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PIONEER TIMES 



Onondaga Country 



CAEROLL E. SMITH, LL.D. 



COMPILED BY AND DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY 
OF HIS FATHER HY 



Chaeles Carroll Smith 



ILLUSTRATED WITH RARE AND ORIGINAL PRINTS 
OF HISTORIC CHARACTERS AND SCENES 




SYRACUSE, N. Y. 

C. W. BARDEEX, PUBLISHER 

1904 



e)(oSc 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

MAY 13 1904 

Cooyrleht Entry 

i^Ci^ / 3 - / «i c ^ 

CLASS a XXo. No. 
COPY B 



(.'orvKioiiT, 1904, BY Harriet E. Sjiith 



INTRODUCTION 

It is a well-known fact that the authentic 
chronicles of the history of the Onondaga coun- 
try, as they have existed in permanent form, 
have been deficient in a marked degree. 
" Clark's Onondaga ", published a half-century 
and more ago, always has been the authority 
on Onondaga's early affairs. Of that esteemed 
writer's work there can be no criticism. It 
forms a solid and substantial basis for facts 
which, but for it, would have been lost to pos- 
terity. 

With the death of the late Carroll E. Smith 
there came to this community a loss greater than 
€an be known at a date so near to the demise of 
that esteemed man. As years roll by, the real- 
ization of this fact will become the more keen. 
OarroU E. Smith, LL.D., was unquestionably 
the historian of Syracuse and the Onondaga 
country, and his acknowledged reputation as a 
writer of facts made his death the more regret- 
table to the public, for his busy, useful life had 
not spared to him the time necessary to place 
before the people in enduring, readily accessible 
form that accurate knowledge he alone possessed 

(5) ■ . 



6 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of the city and county with whose growth he 
was so closely and familiarly identified. 

Fortunately many of Carroll E. Smith's notes 
and manuscripts are available. They remain a 
valuable legacy to the people, and, to make 
tangible that heritage, this volume is issued. 
It is entitled " Pioneer Times in the Onondaga 
Country ' ' and is a verbatim publication of the 
papers he prepared. It will be found most in- 
teresting reading and its worth as a concise nar- 
ration of important events and incidents of our 
early history and later growth will be widely 
recognized. With Carroll E. Smith's "■ Pioneer 
Times in the Onondaga Country " permanently 
placed before the public eye, there will be pre- 
served for all time information essential to the 
educational enlightenment of every intelligent 
person, not alone in the city of Syracuse and 
Onondaga county, but to a considerable extent 
elsewhere ; for the earliest history of the original 
country of Onondaga is closely allied to that of 
this nation. 

It is a pleasure (as it is a duty to the public) 
to place this valuable work of Carroll E. Smith 
in such form that it may do for others that 
which that good man ever strove to accomplish 
— make people better and wiser. We know he 
succeeded admirably in this purpose while living 
and among us. There could be no more fitting 



INTRODUCTION 7 

monument to his memory than this, a part of 
his well- filled mission on earth; and as such it 
is dedicated with the full measure of belief that 
it will receive the recognition it merits and fill 
the niche in the chronicles of Onondaga which, 
without it, would remain a void in the history of 
this favored and famous section of the country. 
These chapters on pioneer times in the Onon- 
daga country were originally published in the 
Syracuse Sunday Herald in the year 1899 in a 
series of twenty-five papers. The work of their 
preparation, though a matter of laborious re- 
search, was to Mr. Smith a recreation and a 
pleasure, for in the later years of his life the 
trend of his mind and the resourcefulness of 
his pen were largely in the direction of affairs 
of local history and his inherent insistence upon 
accuracy made these articles the more valuable 
and worthy of preservation. Through their 
appearance in the Syracuse Herald these papers 
were assured a wide and intelligent reading at 
the time of their publication, Mr. Smith's 
connection with the Herald was a happy one in 
two respects: The newspaper profited largely 
through his ability and the scope of his attain- 
ments, and to the editor and historian there 
was given a vehicle for the conveyance of his 
knowledge unequalled in this part of the State 
of New York. 



8 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The jDurpose of the Pioneer Papers was best 
summed up in the words of Carroll E. Smith 
when he wrote: 

" This series of Pioneer Papers, originally in- 
tended to consist of half a dozen numbers, has 
extended to twenty-five; and although the sub- 
jects of interest embraced in the pioneer period 
are far from exhausted, it is believed by the 
writer that the principal topics have been 
touched upon, and largely the interest in the 
subject expended. The purpose was to make 
a record of events, incidents, and characters of 
the pioneer settlements in the Onondaga country, 
and to bring together for preservation historical 
accounts which if not now preserved would very 
soon be lost to historic research. * * * 

" The preparation of these papers has been a 
work of pleasure. The endeavor was to gather 
and preserve matters of importance in local his- 
tory, now accessible but soon to be beyond 
reach. Although the papers are only a plain 
record of fact and incident, yet they have served 
to bring many people into closer touch with the 
subject and to arouse an interest in its broad 
field of inquiry. It has been a gratifying sur- 
prise to discover how well some of the pioneers 
were personally known to living persons, and 
also that early affairs are so near to us. * * * 
Few localities on this continent present as re- 



INTRODUCTION 9 

sourceful a historical field, including the aborigi- 
nal legends and traditions for 300 years, and the 
religious and colonization propagandism of 150 
years, followed by the New England settlements 
in the past century. ' ' 

Mr. Smith, in preparing the Pioneer Papers, 
made due acknowledgment to Mr. M. W. Han- 
chett, who survives him, for his collaboiation in 
the work by the drafting from memory (a rare 
and exact gift as it exists in Mr. Hauchett) of 
many of the illustrations accompanying the text 
of this volume. Fortunate the warm friendship 
and kindred taste for matters historical wiiich 
drew these two together, for Mr. Smith's \vork 
is enhanced in its greatest value through the 
presentation to the miird's eye by Mr. Han- 
chett's art of long ago scenes in a manner that 
makes them almost as real as of to-day. Some 
of these illustrations are mainly valuable be- 
cause they identify historical objects in the only 
way possible at this time. They are the product 
of an exact memory rather than of the trained 
hand of an artist. Without them these objects 
would be obliterated; would remain not even an 
obscure remembrance to the great body of the 
readers of these chapters. Far better are they 
than the fanciful creations of pencil or brush. 
They round out the descriptions of the historian 
into realistic views. As such they are given 



10 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and as such, there can be no doubt, they will 
receive merited appreciation. 

These prefatory lines cannot be more fittingly 
closed than by quoting from the address of the 
Hon. Charles E, Fitch, delivered at a memorial 
meeting of the Onondaga Historical Association, 
held on the evening of December 4, 1903, in 
which that able orator and brother Regent of 
the late Carroll E. Smith paid tribute to his de- 
parted friend in the following words: 

" I know of no life so intimately associated 
with the life of Syracuse and Onondaga county 
— their genesis, their growth, their social ameni- 
ties, their political conflicts, their memories and 
their achievements, as that of Carroll Earll Smith. 
As the span of his life lengthened into its three 
score and ten, and as, in the review, he saw the 
forests bow to the fertile acres and village ex- 
pand into the city, he might well exclaim, ' a 
great part of which I saw and all of which I 
was.' '^ * * 

" Toward the last also it was this association 
that had the full benefit of his prolonged and 
circumstantial study of local history, of his en- 
thusiasm which never waned, for collecting the 
relics and fixing the landmarks of the past. 
Here too he developed his own faculty of speech. 
When he died on the 2 1st of August, 1903, he 
was the dean of Syracuse journahsm, the oracla 



INTRODUCTION 11 

of the past, and as said at the beginning, and as 
many others have said, more completely indenti- 
fied with the life of the city and county than 
any other man who has here resided. Let us 
preserve his memory as he preserved that of 
others. Let us continue the work that he began. ' ' 

To sum up: " Pioneer Times in the Onondaga 
Country " links past with present in a manner 
so understandingly presented as to form practi- 
cally a text-book of all matter of essential im- 
jDortance to this historical locality. 

Charles Carroll Smith. 

Syracuse, N. Y, January, 190-I-. 




RUIXS OF THE OLD ARSENAL 



CONTENTS 

FIRST PAPER 

A Contrast of Civilizations — Early Onondaga 
County — The First White Settlement — Typical 
Pioneers — Fascination of Pioneer Life — Perils 
of the Pioneers — Woman's Work in Early 
Times — Great Men of that Era. 

SECOND PAPER 

The Church and Its Influence — Teachers, Law- 
yers and Physicians — Business and Amusements 
— Some Early Scenes— The First Settlement — 
Asa Danforth, the Typical Pioneer — Relics of 
First Settlers. 

THIRD PAPER 

Settlement of the Onondaga Country — Great 
and Quick Changes — Literature and Science — 
Popular Education — The Pioneer's Dwelling- 
Evolution of the Parlor — The Early Ivlihtia— 
Pastimes on the Court House Green. 

FOURTH PAPER 

The Five Nations in Onondaga — The Hiaw^atha 
Legend — Characteristics of the Onondagas — 
Coming of the Onondagas — ^The Onondaga Vil- 
lages — Religious Colonies — Onondaga Chieftains. 

(13) 



14: PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

FIFTH PAPER 

The Valley the Scene of Early Transitions — 
Ephraim Webster, the Pioneer — Early Onondaga 
Valley Farms — The Iroquois League — Unrecord- 
ed Civilizations — Prominent Personalities. 

SIXTH PAPER 

Pompey Hill a Favored Section — A Frontier 
Station — Pompey 's Origin and Growth — A Revo- 
lutionary Hero — What Antiquities Evidence — 
Prehistoric Communities. 

SEVENTH PAPER 

Old Time Dwellings — The Early Groundwork 
— The First Tavern in the County — Great Mer- 
chants — Steuben and the First Born — First Salt 
Manufacture. 

EIGHTH PAPER 

Labors of French Jesuits — Protestant Missions 
— Prominent Missionaries — Early Settlers Built 
Churches and Schools — Original Churches in the 
County. 

NINTH PAPER 

How the Educational Interests of the New 
Communities were Promoted — The First Acade- 
my — Onondaga Valley Academy — Syracuse 
Academy — Other Academies. 

TENTH PAPER 

Oneida Lake's Important Connection with the 



CONTENTS 15 

First Settlement of the Onondaga Country — 
Frenchman's Island — Castorland — Fort Brewer- 
ton. 

ELEVENTH PAPER 

Jesuit Relations say little of the Salt Springs 
at Onondaga — The Salt Springs and Eeservation 
— The Jesuit Wells — Evidences that the Onon- 
daga Valley was at one time an Inland Sea. 

TWELFTH PAPER 

The Salt Point Blockhouse — Ancient Fortifica- 
tion Near Green Point — Ancient Works Near 
Delphi in Pompey — Prehistoric Evidences — 
Other Early Defences — Antecedent to Syracuse 
— Johnson's Fort in the Valley — Earliest Onon- 
daga Villages — The Largest Indian Village. 

THIRTEENTH PAPER 

First Newspaper in the County — Origin of 
Town Names — Indian Friendliness — Feud of 
Onondagas and Cayugas — A Child's Death in 
the New Country — A Famous Family — A Rail- 
road Village — A Village of Early Times — First 
Circulating Library — Some Corrections. 

FOURTEENTH PAPER 

Onondaga County Diminished to its Present 
Area — Treaties with the Indians — Origin of the 
Onondagas — The Military Tract — The Onondaga 
Reservation. 



16 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

FIFTEENTH PAPER 

Women of the Pioneer Times — County Build- 
ings — Early Steamboats — Primitive Street 
Names — An Inhospitable Region — Before the 
Horses — Homespun Clothing. 

SIXTEENTH PAPER 

Origin of Syracuse — The Early Indian Village 
—The Future City's Site Indicated— The Wal- 
ton Tract — Beginning of the Place — Other Early 
Settlers — The Old Red Mill — Industrial Interests 
— Purpose of the Promoters — Frequent Changes 
in Names — Changes in Ownership — The Oldest 
Structure — Cheney's Recollections — " The Cor- 
ners " — A Fair Start Gained. 

SEVENTEENTH PAPER 

Joshua Forman Moves to Syracuse — Salt, 
Canal and Syracuse — Forman's Confidence — 
Forman' s Career — Value of a Plum Tree — How 
Syracuse was Named — Map of Syracuse in 1820 
— Clinton Square — First Syracuse School House 
— Moseley's Map of Syracuse — First Village 
Officers— Clinton Square, North Side, 1820 to 
1826. 

EIGHTEENTH PAPER 

The City's Slow Growth Under Temporary 
Names — The Founder's Work — The Old Yellow 
Block — Phinney's Museum — The Old Eagle 
Tavern — The Early Residence Quarter — North 



CONTENTS ! 7 

Side of Genesee Street — First Methodist Church 
— The Northeast Quarter. 

NINETEENTH PAPER 

Opeoiog of the Canal — Syracuse from 1820 to 
1830 — The Kaynor (Now Jerry Rescue) Block — 
The Wieting Block Corner — Early Fire Depart- 
ment. 

TWENTIETH PAPER 

Nucleus of the Present City — The Raynor 
Residence Block — Home of Forman, the Foun- 
der—The Kirk Tavern, 1824— The Globe Hotel 
and the Malcom Block. 

TWENTY-FIRST PAPER 

The Original Syracuse House — Great Men of 
the Time Entertained There — Structures on the 
South Side of Clinton Square, 1824 to 1834 — The 
First of the Canal Bridges. 

TWENTY-SECOND PAPER 

Salina and Salt Point — Unpropitious Begin- 
nings — Competition of Salina and Syracuse — 
Opening of Trade Relations — The Cholera Seas- 
ons — Early Incidents — The Village of Salina — 
Geddes as Town and Village. 

TWENTY-THIRD PAPER 

Early and Variable Territorial Conditions — 
The Old Mill Pond— The Yellow Brook— The 
Northside Brook — Canal Basins — Harbor Brook 
— A Wise Foresight and Provision. 



18 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONPAGA 

TWENTY-FOURTH PAPER 

Sociability in the Olden Times — Balls, Parties 
and Other Functions of the Period — Early 
Teachers of Deportment. 

TWENTY-FIFTH PAPER 

The Courts and the Bar of Onondaga County 
— Early Courts and Judges — A Brilliant Galaxy 
— First and Second Court House and Jail — Syra- 
cuse Made the County Seat — The County Clerk's 
Office — The Onondaga County Bar — The Early 
Onondaga Bar — Eemarks in Conclusion, 



i 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Carroll E. Smith Frontispiece 

Ruins of the Old Arsenal 12 

' ' Westward Ho ! " 23 

Woman's Work in the Good Old Days 33 

Presbyterian Church at Onondaga Valley 40 

Presbyterian Church at the Vallej', Viewed from the Side . . . .43 

Col Comfort Tyler <. 47 

Patty Danforth Wood 49 

Home of Comfort Tyler 53 

Home of Ephraim Webster 57 

Gen. Asa Danforth's House 61 

Os sa-hin-ta (Captain Frost) 65 

So-wah-no-noh (Captain Sam George) 69 

Ta-to-tah, Boy King of the Six Nations 74 

Onondaga Council House 84 

Old Tavern at Onondaga Valley 98 

Presbyterian Church at Onondaga Hill 115 

Old Pompey Academy 124 

Pompey Academy of to-day 128 

Onondaga Valley Academy 131 

The Academy at Sj'racuse 134 

Royal Blockhouse, Oneida Lake 138 

Old Fort Brewerton and Its Surroundings 151 

Blockhouse at Salina, 1792 166 

Old Fort Near Liverpool 168 

Ancient Works Near Delphi 170 

Centennial Medal Onondaga Historical Association 176 

Joshua V. H Clark 180 

Manlius Village and Its Broad Main Street 183 

Original Military Tract 196 

Onondaga Indian Reserv^ation 200 

Onondaga County Poor House 206 

(19) 



20 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The Old Red Mill and Its Surroundings 216 

The Old Red Mill 220 

Syracuse at the Time It Became a City 222 

The Miller's House 225 

Moseley's Map of Syracuse 283 

First Sciiool-house in Syracuse 236 

North Side of Clinton Square, 1820 to 1826 240 

The Old Yellow Block 248 

The Original First M. E Chur h 254 

The Raynor Block (now Jerry Rescue Block) 266 

Wieting Block Corner, 1826-27 269 

The Raynor Residence Block 275 

Residence of Joshua Forman 281 

The Kirk Tavern 285 

The Syracuse House 288 

South Side of Clinton Square, 1824 to 1834 294 

Original Stone Bridge Over the Erie Canal '. 299 

Syracuse in the Wooden Canal Bridge Time 301 

The Village of Salina in 1840 309 

The Mill Pond and Yellow Brook 321 

The North Side Brook 326 

Judge Earll's Office at Onondaga Hill 341 

Court House and Jail at Syracuse, 1830 to 1856 344 

An Earlier Likeness of Carroll E. Smith 356 

Hopper's Glen 384 



F='IR©T F'AF=»ER 

" Westward Ho ! " 

Over the great western staircase leading to 
the House of Eepresentatives at Washington, 
is the famous painting, Lentze's '• Westward 
Ho!" Its name indicates its object. It is in 
part a portrayal of savage conditions, when the 
aborigines occupied this continent; then the 
white pioneers appeared upon the scene, and 
from the settlements on the sea coast their cara- 
vans moved towards the setting sun in quest 
of new and fertile lands on which to found their 
homes and build their prosperity. The opening 
up to civilization of the continent is the climax. 
Their are many accessories to these scenes, but 
the old Connecticut schooner, the long canvas- 
covered wagon conveying family and belongings, 
the stove, cooking utensils and household furni- 
ture, with the family cow and dog, and often a 
couple of pigs, vividly recalls the daily spectacle 
seen here sixty years ago, in slow motion into 
the West, whence the tide of emigration thus 
laboriously made its way. Like caravans earl- 
ier came hither and stopped. Then over the 
great Cayuga bridge their successors kept up the 

(21) 



22 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



procesaioD, first into the Genesee country, then to 
Ohio and into other inviting fields. Similar cara- 
vans have crossed the great deserts, with trade 
and commerce as their object, but these Amer- 
ican emigrants, with a larger intelligence and a 
higher purpose than the orientals, went to found 
new communities and to build upon substantial 
foundations future states of the American 
Union. Before the days of the canal and rail- 



w— 


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-AgJiM^i^Bt" ' iflkk^''.j^^9^^^^^^^^^^^^B 









'• WESTWARD, HO! " 

road, the white caparisoued land-schooneis made 
an almost continuous pageantry across this state 
into the West. It was a marvelous pilgrimage, 
and the results were prodigious in the national 
history and achievement. Pioneer life in one of 
its most spectacular foims was illustrated by 
these migratory expeditions of the earlier settlers. 



CIVILIZATIONS CONTRASTED 23 

A Contrast of Civilizations 

John Bach McMaster, in his history of the 
IDeople of the United States, devotes the opening- 
chapters to the condition of the inhabitants of 
the tlien settled portions of the country, and his 
graphic descriptions aptly apply to the pioneers 
in this region of country. Beginning with the 
America of Washington and Adams, through 
the years, to that in which we live, there is so 
marked a difference in dress, occupation, amuse- 
ments and the professional canons as to denote 
practically distinct civilizations. The changes 
in manners and morals, the growth of the 
humane spirit which aljolished punishment for 
death, reformed the discipline of prisons and 
jails, destroyed slavery and lessened the miseries 
of dumb brutes, are the blazed trees mark- 
ing the wonderful progress of this people. 
There also has been achieved a long series of 
mechanical inventions and discoveries which is 
the admiration of the world and the just pride 
and boast of this people. A prosperity unparal- 
leled in the annals of human affairs has sprung 
up in a single century, and from poverty and 
weakness this nation has grown to be the richest 
in the world; agriculture and manufactures 
flourishing together, free education and a free 
press disseminating knowledge, arts and sciences 
advancing, ingenuity exhibiting more wonders 



24 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

than any of the alchemists ever dreamed of, and 
at the close of the century, such a manifestation 
of armed power on the seas and the land as to 
place the United States first among the powers 
of the earth. 

This generalization of a people's advancement 
in a single century was in like manner displayed 
wherever the American pioneer pushed his way 
a hundred years ago, located his home and en- 
tered upon the career of progress and achieve- 
ments which has built up communities and 
made them the equals in all respects of the 
oldest, best ordered and most advanced any- 
where existing in the world. This progress has 
been made in conditions of peace and industry, 
by a combination of social and political elements 
which happily have promoted the greatest good 
of all the people. There was midway of the 
century settled definitely and forever the ques- 
tion whether this is a nation and a land of free 
men. Notwithstanding the costs and losses of 
the severest civil war in all history, the Amer- 
ican people have made a moral and social ad- 
vancement such as the world never before has 
seen. Were we to be carried back one hundred 
years, this country, as it then existed, would be 
utterly new to us. There was less than a third 
of the present national area, only thirteen states, 
where now are forty -five, and where now are 



LOCATING HOMES 25 

vast stretches of wheat fields, corn fields and 
orchards, there were dense forests inhabited by 
savage men and savage beasts, no great cities, 
none of the inventions which abridge distance 
and annihilate time, scarcely any labor-saving 
machinery, and none of the advantages which 
later came with the introduction of steam and 
electricity. The inhabitants of the original 
states were hemmed in on the east by the ocean 
and on the west by an insidious savage foe and 
the wilderness. Three and a quarter millions 
of people constituted the population, which now 
has grown to seventy millions. Everything in 
business and social life was on a level with the 
inchoate and incomplete general situation. 

In that time this Onondaga country marked a 
part of the frontier line. • It had been the most 
attractive part of New France, and now it was 
to be opened to civilization. It was to this beau- 
tiful region, then in a state of nature, that there 
came^families from the earlier settled places on 
the sea-coast to locate their homes. Pioneer 
life was as thorough in all its aspects here, one 
hundred years ago, as it ever has been in any 
locality on this continent. It speedily adapted 
itself to the favoring conditions which attended 
the more advanced settlements, and what strictly 
may be denominated pioneer life continued here 
for not to exceed a third of a century. The 



26 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

growths that have been accomphshed in coun- 
tries of the old world in a thousand years, were 
practically surmounted here in a single gener- 
ation of men. The forests were conquered, the 
soil brought under cultivation, homes and busi- 
ness places constru.'ted, and the busy activities 
of enlightened communities were speedily in 
operation. 

With the making of settlements there came 
the minister of the Gospel, the teacher of youth, 
the physician, artisan, mechanic, farmer and 
business man. Whoever to-day goes out into 
the valleys and onto the hillsides of Onondaga 
county will find all of the evidences of progress, 
enlightenment and prosperity that are encoun- 
tered in any of the favored spots of the older 
civilization. 

Early Onondaa^a County 

Dr. Horatio Gates Spafford, in his valuable 
publication, " The Gazeteer of the State of 
New York," published in 1824, speaks of Onon- 
daga county forty years after its organization 
as follows: " There is probably no part of the 
United States whose indigenal history is of such 
importance as that of Onondaga. Strange as 
it may seem the early history of that region, 
which of all others is the most interesting in 
tracing the progress of improvements and the 
progressive history of the land of America, will 



EARLY HISTORIANS 2< 

only attract the attention it so imperiously 
demands, in the remote period of future ages. 
Time, which is so rapidly effacing all the records 
of memory, increases their interest in perpetual 
progression. In anticipation of these facts it 
were nmch to be wished that in the present age 
some person would collect all that yet remains 
of the history of Onondaga.*' And again Spaf- 
ford refers to the people of Onondaga as 
" soberly industrious " and as " manufacturing 
most of their common clothing in the house- 
hold way," 

This was written seventy-five years ago. 
Twenty-five years after Spafford recorded his 
impressions of early history, Joshua V. H. Clark 
became the pioneer of local history. His " On- 
ondaga ■' was the first and the pattern of such 
history. He did a great work in preserving 
early historical data, traditions and legends. 
While Clark details the essential features of the 
early attempts to conquer and occupy this region, 
and narrates the successive stages of subsequent 
white settlements, yet his portraiture of pioneer 
life, such as now would be most interesting to 
us, is scant ; and we could wish that with his 
facilities, far better half a century ago than at 
any subsequent time, he had given us pictures 
of that hfe and the material out of which we 
might perpetuate the beauties and benefits as 



28 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

well as the hardships, privations and sacrifices. 
It was in that era that the substantial founda- 
tion of the greatness and power of this people 
was laid. 

The First White Settlement 

It was in 1786 that Ephraim Webster estab- 
lished his trading post at the mouth of Onondaga 
creek. He had one companion at the outset, 
Benjamin Neukirk, whose death took place in 
the early months of the settlement. Webster 
made his way among the Indians and established 
profitable trading relations with them. He 
dealt fairly with them and was trusted by them. 

Two years later, in May, 1788, Webster in- 
duced General Asa Danforth, his son, Asa, jr., 
and Comfort Tyler to come from communities 
in the Mohawk Valley, to which they, like him- 
self, had migrated from New England, to the 
site of Onondaga Valley, and the landing of this 
little party at the site of that village was the 
beginning of the first pioneer settlement in the 
Onondaga country. These adventurers made 
their way by the Mohawk river and the streams 
leading into Oneida lake, on to Onondaga lake, 
and thence by batteaux up the Onondaga creek 
to an inviting location in the valley. They 
were energetic and enterprising men, and the 
settlement they began, and others springing up 
about it, constituted the county of Onondaga, 



^TYPICAL PIONEERS 29 

which, six years after their coming hither, was 
organized by state legislation. These three men 
were genuine pioneers. They were intelligent, 
well versed in business, and had the enterprise 
to establish industries, to locate mills and shops, 
to clear away the forests and to inaugurate a 
system of highways. They were the builders of 
the new civilization here. 

Typical Pioneers 

General Danforth, who had been a soldier in 
the War of the Revolution, was a natural leader 
of men, and he played a large part in the organ- 
izing of the communities which constituted the 
new county. He made relations with the Indi- 
ans, which preserved their friendship and facili- 
tated the growth and prosperity of the new set- 
tlements. His brother and son were useful 
auxiliaries. With him came a younger man. 
Comfort Tyler, who was the most brilliant and 
brainy man of his time in that locality. Tyler 
promoted needed improvements and his en- 
gineering ability first opened up the highways 
which sinco have been the avenues over which 
millions of people have travelled. We have 
Tyler's portrait, and his descendants and those 
of the younger Danforth have had a large part 
in our local history. While we know of these 
men's lives and services, we have no adequate 
account of their personalities or of the ways 



30 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and means by which they promoted the consid- 
erable enterprises they were engaged in. We do 
know that their example and precept turned 
the Onondaga valley into a most charming 
region, that they utilized the natural resources 
of the locality to the furtherance of the welfare 
of organized society, and that they began the 
conversion of the brine underlying Onondaga 
lake into the salt that was the foundation of the 
growth and prosperity of this favored county. 

There were other marked characters of that 
time. There is in my possession a remarkable 
document, to wit, the petition to the Legislature 
of the State of New" York, dated January 1st, 
1794, just before the county's formation, which 
contains the signatures of forty of the leading 
men in Onondaga county at that time, w^ho, 
joining with equal numbers from the territory 
constituting Cayuga and Herkimer counties, 
inaugurated the movement which resulted in 
the state building the great bridge over Cayuga 
lake, by which tens of thousands of the people 
of the East made their way into Western New 
York and still further on into the Ohio country, 
and laid the foundation for new states. The 
roll of these signatures is that of Onondaga's 
pioneers — the men to whom we owe the basis 
and the impulse to the magnificent civilization 
now manifest all about us. Were we to call 



ATTRACTIONS OF PIONEER LIFE 31 

that roll we would hear the names most famihar 
in the accounts of the first years of this county, 
and of many whose descendants are still promi- 
nent in public affairs. 

Fiiscinatioii of Pioneer Life 

Pioneer life, wherever encountered, carries 
attractive phases. It has fascination. It is 
nearest to nature's domain. It has freedom 
and latitude, as well as restriction. No story 
is more interesting than that telling the romance 
of the pioneers. The first purpose was to choose 
eligible locations, then a clearing sufficient for 
the humble cabin was made, and gradually it 
was enlarged for more extended operations in 
agriculture and stock raising. The cabin gave 
place to the more pretentious dwelling, out- 
buildings were constructed, and finally, a neigh- 
borhood was created, out of which in time grew 
a community. 

We can imagine, but cannot fully appreciate, 
the home of the Danforths, at first lonely 
enough, but at last, with one woman in it, and 
she at times for many days alone and unpro- 
tected excepting by God above when the men 
were called away. At no time neighbors or 
companions ; in sickness no physician ; in trouble, 
no comforter; nowhere the school teacher and 
the minister of the Gospel. Then began the real 
life of the orgaijized community. It was crude 



32 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and rough, with hardships and privation, but the 
home had been made, and in and about it soon 
were gathered the elements which brought civil- 
ization, comfort and comparative ease. 

Perils of the Pioneers 

There is a narrative of Webster's peril from 
Indians, who at one time doubted his fidelity. 
The tomahawk and knife were raised above 
his bound body for the death blow, when, im- 
ploring a last drink of water, it was given him, 
and when he smilingly drank to the health of 
his persecutors they relented and bade him live 
on. When Danforth interposed to stop traders 
from supplying Indians with firewater, by 
which their passions were aroused and dreadful 
crimes committed, the enraged Indians threat- 
ened his home and family with destruction. 
A friendly chief's intervention saved them. 

The story told of the coming into Onondaga 
Valley through unbroken forests and its dangers 
of the child Patty, daughter of General Dan- 
forth, the first white child in this region, and 
afterwards the wife of Thaddeus M. Wood, is a 
graphic chapter of pioneer experience. The 
narrative of this young woman's courage and 
steadfastness when threatened by the Indians 
showed the spirit of the pioneer and illustrated 
the qualities of the woman of the period. 

The reader of the recorded history of the 



woman's good work 



33 



first century of this county will not fail to ob- 
serve the scant notice of the part the pioneer 
woman had in it, and when are considered her 
relations to affairs, her duties and responsibil- 
ities in the making of home and society, and 
in forming conditions that in so short a period 
developed an advanced civilization, there is 
wonder why this neglect or oversight occurred. 
It is for us in this later time to recognize the 
large part woman had in this remarkable period 
and to award to the sex the just praise and com- 
mendation we would gladly render individuals." 







Woman's work in good old times is one of the 
most pleasing reminiscent pictures. It shows 



34: PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

grandmother at the spinning wheel and the 
young^matron at the distaff. These wheels are 
now curiosities and prized relics. About them 
cluster fine stories of the olden times. The 
tales are of days when the pioneers wore home- 
spun garments, the best and warmest and most 
comfortable, even if not the handsomest and 
most shapely. The picture is one that lingers 
pleasantly in the minds of old men of this day. It 
is a central feature of the domestic life a hun- 
dred years ago. Sometimes it is repeated on the 
stage, but never with the flavor that the original 
excited' and which is indelibly affixed to it. 

At the Onondaga County Agricultural So- 
ciety's fair a few years ago a distinguished son 
of Onondaga was called upon for an address and 
he readily found an acceptable topic: in the 
domestic exhibit he had come across the old 
spinning wheel of his own mother. This was 
his text, over which he waxed eloquent in recol- 
lection of his boyhood days as he vividly de- 
picted to his interested hearers the material, the 
texture and the make of his first boy's suit, 
which was the product of the old wheel. He 
never had donned a suit that so stimulated his 
pride'as did those home-spun garments. About 
the old spinning wheel cluster fond memories 
which not only hve on the painted canvas, but 
are bright and lasting in men's minds. 



LESSONS OF THE EARLY LIFE 35 

Great Men of that Era 

There were great lawyers, great physicians, 
great merchants and tradesmen, mechanics and 
builders and farmers in those famous old times. 
At least the measure of the men of prominence 
and activity was very large in the eyes of those 
who were on-lookers of the operations of the 
times. Surely there were as great and memor- 
able things done then as at any time since. And 
those whose memories extend back into the 
later verge of that epoch will not controvert the 
opinion that the good old times were the best 
times. We who are privileged to see and enjoy 
the wonders of steam and electricity in myriad 
forms of usefulness, and are able to look back 
at the era of the stage-coach and the canal- 
packet, comparing the two, will find recompense 
in the auld-lang-syne that cannot be equalled by 
the speed and facility of this rapid epoch. 
There were as much comfort, pleasure and en- 
joyment of life in the homes of the scattered 
settlements in the pioneer days as now are 
found in modern conditions and improvements. 
From recent generations, from whose lips the 
glad story has been heard, we learned to value 
the lessons of the pioneer life, and to credit them 
with much of the greatness that since has be- 
come historic with this people. 



©EC5CDNIZ) F^AF'EF^ 

Early Religious Work 

There were familiar characters of the pioneer 
time who were leaders in the affairs of every- 
day life and whose methods and practices long 
since disappeared before modern innovations. 
The preacher had a distinct individuality .which 
constituted him a very pope in his parish. He 
was inclined to be arbitrary, often bigoted, and 
his three and a half hours' Sunday services, 
with the seventeenthly application of ^ his ser- 
mons, were a positive infliction. Soon after the 
county's organization, religious societies were 
formed in the several settlements, but the first 
house of pubhc worship erected in the county 
was the Church of the Eastern Society of Mar- 
cellus in 1803, and it was for a time [the only 
meeting house between New Hartford' and the 
Pacific ocean. The Rev. Dan Bradley was the 
pastor. Dr. Caleb Alexander followed him, and 
later removed to Onondaga Valley, where he 
entered into the organization of the Onondaga 
HoUow Rehgious society in 1S09, and in 1813 
was instrumental in organizing the Onondaga 
Academy, which was very successful under his 

(36) 



EARLY RELIGIOUS WORK 37 

principalship. There was a loug line of minis- 
ters of the gospel who exercised a powerful in- 
fluence in molding the early communities. The 
meeting-house of that time was anything but a 
cheerful place. Usually it was cold and dreary, 
stoves not having yet been introduced, nor even 
the little comfort from the foot-stove, which 
later became common. 

The Cliurcli and its Influence 

' Instrumental music was tabooed, and it was 
years before the organ was allowed place in the 
sanctuary; other instruments for accompani- 
ment were still later in recognition. Neverthe- 
less, a large part of the most wholesome influ- 
ence came from the church. It was the center 
of the social life of the new region. Church 
membership was largely of the gentler sex, and 
their devotion and steadfastness were the church's 
mainstay. It is noted that Mrs. Asa Danforth 
was for more than twelve years the only com- 
municant of the church at Onondaga Valley, 
and then she was joined by Mrs. General Lewis 
and others. The Rev. Samuel Kirtland, sent 
out by the Boston society for the propagation of 
the gospel among the Indians, was the first cler- 
gyman, Episcopalian, to preach in Onondaga 
county. 

The social influence from the church often 
was somber; nevertheless it was the sheet anchor 



38 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of the small communities in their struggle for 
settJed conditions. Church sociables were un- 
known ; but from the prayer meeting acquain- 
tance and friendship extended, and these gave 
form to the society that grew up about the 
church as its natural center. The donation 
party, the sewing circle, the quiltings and paring 
bees were developments which grew into broader 
relations. The religious influence upon the first 
settlers, puritanical as it was, was powerful for 
the elevation of the communities. The natural 
tendencies of the pioneers were rough and un- 
couth, but this element gave character and 
purpose to the people. The Sabbath day was 
kept holy, secular employments were not coun- 
tenanced, recreations were forbidden, it was 
strictly Sunday, and the New England people, 
who formed the greater part of the communi- 
ties, adhered to the "keeping of Saturday ev-e- 
ning " as a part of the sacred day. 

Gradually the church organizations extended 
and the membership increased. Societies were 
organized in all the new settlements. A re- 
markable church architecture was introduced 
and churches on the same general plan were 
builded in a number of places. The old church 
at the Valley (1810) is a sample of these edifices, 
which were constructed from practically the 
same plan by a Mr. Twogood. The old First 



PRACTITIONERS OF OLD 39 

Presbyterian church in Syracuse (1825) was on 
this plan, and its counterpart, still standing, is 
the church at Howlett Hill, claimed to be the 
oldest church edifice standing in the county. 
The churches at Loomis Hill, at Onondaga Hill 
and Valley, at Otisco Center, at Orville, James- 
ville, Fayetteville, in old Salina, and some other 
places in this and Madison counties, are on the 
general plan of these edifices, which were im- 
posing structures for the time in which they 
were built. These buildings were erected prior 
to 1825. 

Teachers, Lawyers and Physicians 

The school teacher was little less austere and 
exacting than the preacher. Nevertheless both 
these public servants were held in respect akin 
to veneration. The doctor in his practice was 
little like the physician of to-day. He rode his 
regular rounds on horseback and with saddle- 
bags, and was indeed a picturesque character. 
There are few more interesting relics of the 
period than the doctor's saddlebags. The law- 
yer contented himself with a limited practice 
and small fees, his field being the justice and 
county courts in the main, and there being a 
habit of adjustment of difficulties and disputes 
which in later times is intolerable to the profes- 
sion, whose fees grew with enlarged practice. 

The early ministers of the gospel were not 




PRES15YTERIAK CHURCH AT ONONDAGA VALLEY 



AMUSEMENTS AND BUSINESS 41 

only teachers of religion, but practical men of 
affairs, and were serviceable to the settlers in 
business, as well as spiritual affairs. The doc- 
tor was an equally well-equipped man, inas- 
much as lie often was called upon to advise in 
business transactions, the drawing of wills, etc. 
The teachers of the young were themselves as a 
rule young men with aptitude for the work of 
instruction, and they speedily grew into other 
pursuits in which their abilities could find more 
play. The lawyers in their special field found 
then as now free scope for their ability and skill, 
and they monopolized most of the public po- 
sitions. 

The newspaper man was little in evidence, 
but he was a man of note and influence. His 
adjutant was the postman, who on horseback 
traversed the highways and delivered the freshly- 
printed sheets directly to the homes of patrons 
— there being limited mail facilities. 

Business and Amusements 

The general store was an institution of great 
value, the progenitor of the department store of 
the present. It was a necessity of the time, 
making a common trading center for the sparse 
and scattered population. Men like Azariah 
Smith of Manlius and John Meeker of TuUy, 
great business men of their time, were the 
storekeepers in many communities. 



42 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Th9 amusements were mainly in travelling 
shows, of which old Sickel's shows were the 
most noted. These were enlarged Punch and 
Judy exhibits, and nothing of modern times in 
the show line is more attractive and popular 
than they were. 

Travelling shows had their scope in those 
times. Not a village in the county but had its 
"hall", usually the dancing room of the tav- 
ern, which quickly was metamorphosed into a 
theater. Recollections of old people still living 
are redolent of the drama of the early period. 
In Syracuse the memory of Phinney's museum, 
located at the Clinton street canal bridge, and 
John Dean's theater, located where the Larned 
block stands (in which the afterwards famous 
Julia Dean played page parts) are recalled with 
pleasure. 

These entertainments later were supple- 
mented with regular lecture courses, in which 
Henry Giles, Beecher, Whipple, Gough and 
other eloquent platform speakers held the atten- 
tion of the public in a period before the popu- 
larity of the daily newspaper, and were loeans 
of much general instruction. The popular 
amusements were concerts of the Hutchinson 
family order and the ballads of the Englishman, 
Henry Russell, which had a run before classical 
music claimed the boards. 




PRESliVTKRIAN rHrK('lI AT THE VALLEY, VIEWED FROM THE SIDE 



44 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The newspapers were small weeklies with 
long extracts from London, New York and 
Washington publications duly received by the 
slow mails, and the editorial column was a long 
treatise on some public question, with no local 
news, which had not yet come into fashion. 
Instead of the numerous paragraphs of news 
and comment, the editor confined himself to a 
single essay notable for its length and heaviness. 

The crowning institution of the period in pop- 
ularity was the general training — usually a three 
days' term once a year. The broad fields of 
Onondaga Valley were its scenes, and there 
gathered for drill and inspection the several com- 
mands, regiments and battalions, in which all 
the eligible males in the county were enrolled. 
Generals and Colonels, Majors and Captains 
were numerous, and those old-time dignitaries 
have transmitted the glory of their military 
careers to succeeding generations. Sports and 
games, hard cider and ginger-bread, and crowds 
of the population gathered to witness " Hayfoot 
Strawfoot" maneuvers, constitute memories that 
pleasantly linger with those who in their youth 
experienced these scenes. The military spirit of 
the pioneer days, inherited from the war of the 
revolution, had been perpetuated and in the suc- 
ceeding wars from it were developed qualities 
that brought honor and glory upon the republic. 



ROUGH AND STURDY ELEMENTS 45 

Some Early Scenes 

There were also rough elements. Salt Point 
was the center of their operations. Its shoulder- 
hitters fought every day in the year, on election 
days in particular, and without regard to Sun- 
day. Dean Richmond began his great career 
with the fighting salt boilers, and was graduated 
to the head of the New York Central and the 
New York Democracy. " Charlie " Woodruff, 
Tobias Buckley and a score of other athletes 
were leading spirits of Salt Point's invincible 
phalanx. They were ever ready to fight, and 
many were the bloody battles of the Salt Point- 
ers and Syracuse boys. The border line at Divis- 
ion street was often fought over, and among my 
earliest recollections are a pitched battle on elec- 
tion day at the old Court House, with knock- 
downs and drag-outs, and a street fight in Gene- 
see street from Saliua street to the Granger 
block, in which building timbers were barricades 
and paving-stones the missiles. Only when 
cityhood was voted fifty-one years ago did this 
warfare cease. 

Many of us recall the sturdy presence of 
Cheney Amidon, a well-preserved old man from 
the pioneer times, who had the notion that no 
man need ever die. and that he would live on 
forever. But one day he was overtaken and 
summoned to join his fathers. Then more re- 



46 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

cently old "Bill" Forman, a member of a 
family distinguished in the early annals of the 
county, moved among us until quite recently, 
and was an encyclopedia of the pioneer times, 
to which he claimed near relationship. These 
were examples of the old-time citizens, and in 
every spot throughout Onondaga county there 
are held in recollection men of this stamp. 
They have rapidly disappeared from the scenes 
of life, and there exist to-day very few links 
that even at second hand connect the closing- 
years of the last century with these closing 
years of the Nineteenth century. 

The First Settlement 

The exact spot of the landing of Webster, 
the Danforths and Tyler, at Onondaga Valley, 
on May 22d, 1788, is pointed out on the creek's 
bank in the rear of Dr. J. P. Tolman's premises, 
half a mile south of the village. It was well 
chosen. Opposite on the creek's west bank ran 
the mihtary road, and to the northwest were the 
sites of the academy and church. The creek 
makes a fine sweep at that point and the lay of 
the land is excellent. General Danforth had a 
habitation there, parts of which were used in 
later years in building a barn on the premises. 
Webster at a subsequent time had a residence 
on his farm on the west side of the valley, 
under the hills, not far from Dorwin springs,. 



TYLER AND DANFORTH 



47 



which is still standing. Comfort Tyler's home 

was a l|^-story 

house, just north of 

the hotel at the east. 

side corners, and, 

somewhat changed, 

is there yet. It was 

at Asa Danforth's 

dwelling that the 

first town meeting 

on the organization 

of the county was 

held, and Ephraim J 

Webster was the 

first supervisor. 

The characteris- 
tics of Asa Dan- 
forth are described 
by Clark, in his his- 
tory: " Single- 
handed and alone he encountered the hardships, 
privations, and discouragements of a frontier set- 
tler. He prepared the way for those less bold and 
venturous than himself, and as the lonely wood- 
men, one by one, wended their way into this 
land of promise and prospective plenty, this 
fatherly man kindly took them by the hand, 
welcomed them on, and pointed out to them the 
most favorable places for habitation. Danforth 







COL. COMFORT TYLER 

(One of Onondaga's first white settlers. 

Lieutenant in Burr's Expedition.) 



48 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

was a striking example of pure and disinterested 
benevolence. No man who passed his hospita- 
ble threshold, but was received with kindness 
and affection, and none retired from it but with 
feelings of regret. During a long and gloomy 
period his house was the seat of hospitality, the 
resting place of the traveller, the home of the 
stranger, and the abode of charity. The boun- 
ties of his cabin were freely dispensed to all who 
entered; and although thousands shared the 
blessings of his board, it was always without 
money and without price." He was known 
personally to every individual on the Military 
tract, and his counsel and advice were sought 
and received with deference and respect; his 
capacity and enterprise fitted him for almost all 
stations and duties; he was identified with all 
prominent interests, and he greatly promoted 
the welfare of his fellow men, and advanced the 
prosperity of the new county. He enjoyed the 
confidence and esteem of his fellow men, and 
was called to fill the most important offices and 
trusts in the gift of his fellow citizens. He 
was prominent in the local judiciary; he was a 
senator in the legislature; he was superintend- 
ent of the Salt springs; he had been a soldier in 
the Kevolution and became active in the state 
militia, and held the post of major general, 
when it was one of distinction and recognized 



INTERESTING EELICS 



49 



worth. Thirty years Danforth figured in the 
affairs of the new county, and was a leading- 
man in all important enterprises of the time. 
He was the Father of Onondaga county, and a 
representative and typical pioneer. 

* Relics of First Settlers 

Eepeated efforts have been made to discover 
portraits of the first white settlers— the Danf orths, 
Tyler, Webster, or members of their families. 
Likenesses of Com- 
fort Tyler and Patty 
Danforth, the latter 
the first white woman 
in the Onondaga 
country, are preserved 
and copies of them 
are reproduced with 
this article. A silhou- 
ette of Asa Danforth 
is said to be in posses- 
sion of his family de- 
scendants somewhere 
in the west, but it 
has not been found, ^^^ 

PATTY DANFORTH WOOD 
No likenesses of (First white woman in the Onondaga 
T7I 1 • -vxT 1 J- Country.— From painting In 

Ephrami Webster or Historical Association.) 

Asa Danforth, senior, are known to exist, and 
probably none were taken. Portraits of James 
Geddes, Joshua Forman, " Thad " M. Wood, 




50 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Jasper Hopper, Jonas C. Baldwin, Azariah 
Smith, Nicholas P, Randall, Daniel Kellogg, 
Daniel Mosely, and Robert Earll are among 
those of pioneers known to be preserved. 
There is in existence a fine likeness in oil of 
Father Daniel Waldo, a soldier of the revolu- 
tion, and chaplain of congress, who died in Syra- 
cuse at the age of 102 years. He was one of 
the patriots confined in the British prison house 
in old New York. He preached a sermon in 
Plymouth church when 101 years old. 



-THIRCD F=»AF=EF=J 

SettleniPiit of the Onondaga Country 

The settlement of the Onondaga country, tak- 
ing place half a dozen years after the close of 
the revolutionary war, was then effected by the 
tide of emigration from the New England states 
into the West. This region was the first invit- 
ing, fertile field that presented itself beyond the 
confines of the earlier Dutch settlement in the 
Mohawk valley, and the first inhabited spots in 
Onondaga were those of which emigrants from 
Connecticut and Massachusetts took possession. 
Such was the quality of the emigration for full 
fifty years, after which the greater body of the 
new comers were from Europe. 

The earlier villages and towns were strongly 
permeated with New England characteristics; 
and in turn, when the children of the first set- 
tlers began to look around for homes for them- 
selves, they in large numbers went out into the 
inviting and vaunted localities in the newly- 
forming states of the West. Communities of 
Onondaga people or their children are met with 
in all the western states. Like the communities 
from which they sprung here in Central New 

(51) 



52 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

York, there are no better in morals, progress 
and thrift, anywhere in the world. 

Great and Quick Changes 

After the close of the revolutionary war great 
changes occurred throughout Central and West- 
ern New York. No part of the new union so 
felt the war's consequences or better appreciated 
and sustained the American characteristics than 
the new communities in these regions. Based 
in the fundamental law of the state's constitu- 
tion, the principles of civil government and ra- 
tional liberty were securely entrenched in the 
people's institutions. The successful plan of 
government thus inaugurated becaine an effi- 
cient means of the state's growth and prosperity, 
based in self-knowledge, individual reliance, and 
dignity of character. The successive increase 
of population and wealth in the state is without 
parallel in history. The new settlers, mostly 
from the eastern states, were principally agricul- 
turists, with a sufficient admixture of mer- 
chants, mechanics, traders, and professional 
men. They brought with them excellent mor- 
als, religious fervency love of home and patri- 
otic impulses. They also had enterprise, inge- 
nuity in the arts, and high social instincts. In 
the distinctive preservation of national charac- 
teristics was the strongest impulse to the growth 
and prosperity of the new country. 




HOME OF COMFORT TYLER, on the East Road, Onondaga Valley 



54 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The historian in the first decade of this cen- 
tury notes the growth of the drinking habit, 
the increased love of the people for amusements, 
the theater in the cities, stage lepresentation in 
colleges, academies, schools and churches, the 
ethusiastic observance of Independence day, the 
growing popularity of holidays, the inclination 
of the young for dancing, which was a favorite 
amusement of the New England people, the 
popularity of horse racing, and the favor shown 
the public lottery, then legalized and a source of 
revenue to the state. 

Process of Evolution 

The evolution of the new country is well 
worthy of study. The first dwellings and farm 
buildings were crude and rough and devoid of 
the conveniences which came later with im- 
proved conditions. But after the founding of 
the home were the opening of highways, the 
bridging of streams and the cutting of roads 
through forests and swamps. The architecture 
at first was of a compound charactei'; the earlier 
dwelhngs uniting the New England lightness 
and neatness with the Dutch durability and 
heaviness, making the house enduring, commodi- 
ous and sufficiently pretentious. Agriculture 
improved with the extension of clearings and 
the bringing of larger areas of soil under culti- 
vation. The soil was fertile and easily culti- 



PROCESS OF EVOLUTION 55 

vated; the returns were prolific, and witli en- 
larged and improved farming operations came 
the advance of domestic economy. The house- 
hold manufactures were depended upon for the 
clothing of the families, and with experience 
was an increase in fabrics, and their variety and 
quality. Some imported goods were used, but 
the American products won their way to favor 
as their styles and fashions grew better. Early 
much class feeling was engendered by the differ- 
ing dress of the people, and a strong prejudice 
was shown by the masses, who by force of nec- 
essity wore the home-made cloth and garments, 
against the few who by their wealth indulged in 
finer fabrics and wore gala-day attire habitually. 
In those times the dancing hall Avas the place 
where the class feeling was most sharply dem- 
onstrated; and on these occasions it was not 
unusual for the parties to divide into social 
coteries, on the line of dress — the aristocrats 
against the plebiats. It was a severe social 
warfare, developing acerbity of feeling and in- 
tense animosities. But gradually this condition 
disappeared, and finally no longer had expression. 

Literature and Science 

Greater variety in the language of the people 
existed then than now. While English was 
commonly spoken and written, there were Ger- 
man, French, Swiss and other nationalities rep- 



56 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

resented in the new settlements and the various 
languages used. Idomatic distinction and inflec- 
tions were numerous; and it is not remarkable 
that the English gained from other languages, 
and that from the diversity of speech, in the 
later correction of error and the exercises of 
study and taste, the language of the people be- 
came more graceful and fresher. 

Literature and science kept pace with the 
growth of po^Dulation. The system of educa- 
tion, defective in its earlier stages, made splendid 
progress and now is unsurpassed. While the 
common school system is devoted to the acqui- 
sition of knowledge subservient to the prime 
purpose of life, the higher education, of scien- 
tific and literary quahty, flavors the intellectual 
status of the people. In the arts the advance 
has been prodigious; original genius is recog- 
nized and favored; mechanical skill has the 
widest field; and a single century, under the 
most highly favored conditions, has wrought 
changes and gained progress never anywhere 
else in the world's history realized. The foun- 
dation was well and substantially laid, and the 
superstructure has been thoroughly and wisely 
builded. 

Popular Education 

The educational facilities of early Onondaga 
took form distinctively, not only in the common 



4 


IHij! 


1 


WSSI^m 






1 




' "^PI^^H 




^V "^^m 




g;™---^.^™ 


^^^K. ^-^ 




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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B ? 


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fli 


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■■n 


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nmmn 


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HOME OF EPHRAIM WEBSTER, on farm given him by the state, Onondaga Valley 



58 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

schools, but in the academies and semiDaries. 
The church spire and the school-house were 
simultaneous creations, and the advanced schools 
at Onondaga, Pompey, Manlius, Elbridge, Skane- 
ateles and Syracuse, opened facilities for instruc- 
tion that were not exceeded in those days. The 
history of these institutions is intimately con- 
nected with the active and useful public careers 
of many men whose influence and works have 
been felt in the affairs of states and the nation. 
The Pioneer's Dwelling; 
The evolution of the pioneer's house, already 
referred to, is an inviting subject. Several in- 
stances of the complete dwellings of the early 
settlers in the Onondaga valley are given in illus- 
trations accompanying this article. They show 
to what the earlier domicile grew in a very few 
years. Comfortable dwellings, with commodi- 
ous apartments, but no modern improvements, 
were these first homes of the pioneers. Provis- 
ion was made for the absolute necessities of the 
family; living and sleeping rooms, frequently 
identical, and the kitchen, were provided. There 
were no stoves or furnaces, only fireplaces, 
broad and capacious, with the iron crane on 
which hung the kettles, and the fire was builded 
of great logs. Then came the big oven, usually 
adjacent to the fireplace, and so commodious 
that cord-wood heated it and the baking for the 
family was done at one time for the week. 



HOUSEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS 69 

When the first cook-stove — a crude affair 
compared with the range of to-day — was intro- 
duced, it speedily produced a revolution in house- 
hold economics. Then came the box-stove, for 
heating living-rooms ; it was sometimes of cast 
iron and otherwise of sheet-iron, burning large 
sticks of wood. Then the open Frankhn, and 
later the superfine parlor stove and hot air and 
steam-heater, utihzing coal as fuel. 

There was in the hundred years a like evolution 
in house hghting; tallow dips, molded candles, 
whale-oil lamps, kerosene and burning fluid, 
illuminating gas and now electricity. The boy 
who dipped the candles a generation ago will 
never forget the experince, and when he com- 
pares the rude process with the lighting facili- 
ties of to-day the contrast will excite his wonder. 
Friction matches, devloped from the rude sul- 
phur matches of sixty years ago, are equally a 
marvel. The more important of the electrical 
appliances and machines are only about fifteen 
years old. 

Evolution of the Parlor 

When the parlor and the spare-room were 
added to the old-time dwelling the march of 
civilization was realized and the modern meta- 
morphosis was accomplished. The parlor was 
the acme of the achievements of the women 
folks. What is a parlor ? may be asked. " Orig- 



60 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

inally the room set apart from the great hall for 
private conference and conversation;" at pres- 
ent, '*■ in Great Britain, the common sitting room 
or keeping room of a family, as distinguished 
from a drawing room intended for the reception 
of guests; " in the United States, " a room in a 
private house set apart for the conversational 
entertainment of guests." In connection v\rith 
the last definition may be quoted the view^ of an 
American philosopher: " The house stands for 
comfort and for conversation, and parlors w^ere 
misnamed if not peopled with ideas." The 
meaning is that the word parlor, being derived 
from a French word signifying to speak, hence 
parlors are misnamed if not peopled with ideas. 
The suggestion makes you laugh if you are a 
philosopher and summon up pictures of parlors. 
"Peopled with ideas," indeed. Anything but 
that. Bric-a-brac, tidies, tatting, needlework, 
drawn -work, ornamental work, thingamies and 
thingumbods, in greater variety than could be 
conceived by any man, and all that will ever 
be recorded in the book of the vanities and in- 
anities of womankind. A better name for par- 
lors would be museums. Instead of " Walk 
into my parlor," why not say " Step into my 
museum," Were half the money spent upon 
the parlor to be put into the kitchen outfit how 
great would be the comfort and convenience of 




GKN. ASA DANFORTIIS HOUSE, rebuilt and used as a barn: original 

LANUINK PLACE. OnONDAOA N'aLLEY 



62 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

that indispensable adjunct of th^ well-ordered 
household. The parlor and the spare-room grew 
up with the ability to provide these affairs in a 
style adequate to the fashion of the time — at 
first moderate and finally overdone to the point 
of uselessness. 

The old-time kitchen was the housewife's 
sanctum. It was most likely the family dining- 
room and the resort of the family and " the 
help." It was before the parlor or the spare 
room, and as necessary as the sleeping room, 
which may have been the loft. Indeed, the first 
place provided under the roof of the pioneer's 
house was the kitchen. Comparing the old- 
time with the modern affair, utility is in the 
first and a picture in the other. What a deal of 
work was done in the old-fashioned kitchen of, 
say, 1800. How much better is the fashionably 
appointed kitchen of 1900, in sense and utility ? 

The Early Militia 

There were in the mihtia organizations about 
1S0(>, nearly all the leading men of the country. 
Gen. John Ellis was an imposing character, very 
tall and stalwart, a stately figure, with a fine head 
and presence. His portrait in regimentals shows 
him to have been a striking figure, and that of 
his wife a fitting companion to him. Gen. 
Thaddeus M. Wood also was an inspiring char- 
acter. Active in military and public affairs, he 



SPORTS ON THE GREEN 63 

was still more so in the legal controversies of 
this time. Quick at repartee, severe in sarcasm 
and withering in denunciation, he was a much 
feared man. Gen. James E. Lawrence, a gener- 
ation younger, was in the same class, and no 
mounted officer of the early militia was more 
admired. Col. Daniel T. Jones, Col. Jonas C. 
Baldwin, Col. John H. Johnson and others were 
likewise heroes of the general training. 

Pastimes on the Court House Green 

On the court house green at Onondaga Hill, 
the county seat, were frequent displays of pio- 
neer recreations. It was the scene of manly 
sports, particularly of old-fashioned baseball and 
quoits. There also were wrestling matches, and 
leaders of the bar, Daniel Kellogg, Asher Tyler, 
Daniel Gott, B. Davis Noxon, William Sabine, 
Daniel Moseley, George Hall, Medad Curtis and 
other-competitors attested their physical qualities 
in this arena. At intermissions of the courts 
the legal luminaries let their light shine forth on 
the field of physical competition. 

The country doctor was a great man in his 
field of activity. Mounted on horseback, with 
saddlebags, he made his ride and dispensed pills 
and portions to the people, and was purveyor of 
current news and useful knowledge as well as 
remedies for the ills that man is heir to. Drs. 
Wilham and Gordon Needham of Onondaga 



64 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Valley, Doctor Bissell of Marcellus, Dr. N. R. 
Tefft of Onondaga Hill come down in local his- 
tory as typical physicians of the early time. Dr. 
Jonathan Kneeland, as a successor, stands as 
the type known to us of the present as the phy- 
sician of blessed memory in pioneer days. 



F=-OUR"rH F=»AF=EF^ 



The Five Nations in Onondaga 

The earliest recorded history of Indians in the 
central part of what is now the state of New 
York relates to the Indian population in 1535 — 
the country about 
Salt Lake (Onon- 
daga), the old Gen- 
etaha, which was 
a favorable loca- 
tion and the seat 
of a considerable 
community. A 
century later the 
Five Nations occu- 
pied most of Can- 
ada, present New 
York from Lake 
Erie to Ontario, 
the St. Lawrence 
and Lake Cham- 
plain and the Hud- 
son to the High- 
lands. They were 
numerous and warlike. Onondaga was the prin- 

(65) 




OS-SA-HIN-TA (CAPTAIN FROST) 
(Head Chief of the Onondagas, 1830-1845) 



Q6 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

cipal center, and here before the arrival of the 
Europeans they had fortifications of strength 
and importance. These were in double rowg of 
palisades, surrounded by walls and earthworks. 
The Iroquois early learned the value of united 
strength, and in the early accounts they are 
called "the Romans of the Western World. '^ 
At Onondaga was their grand council, or Long 
House, by which the confederacy was called. 

The Iroquois confederacy was formed in 164^0, 
and was entered into for defense against the in- 
cursions of other Indians, and it resulted in a 
contest for the control of the continent and ex- 
tensive successes by the Five Nations. The chief 
Hiawatha organized the confederacy on a scheme 
nearer the federated system than any other in 
North America. Each nation maintained a 
separate government, but the grand council set- 
tled the confederacy's affairs, both in peace and 
war. This powerful combination waged war 
for domination East, West, South, and it was 
not till 1838 that it was ended by the sale of the 
last tract of Indian lands to the state. Frag- 
ments of the once powerful Iroquois now only 
exist. 

Tlie Hiawatha Leis^eiul 

The beautiful legend of Hiawatha's transla- 
tion, after the formation of the Iroquois con- 
federacy, was communicated to Clark, the his- 



THE HIAWATHA LEGEND 67 

torian, by Onondaga chieftains Frost and La- 
Fort, in 1845, and by him pubhshed in his his- 
tory of Onondaga; subsequently it was pre- 
sented in Schoolcraft's " Notes on the Iroquois, " 
without credit to Clark, who later asserted and 
proved his right to the history. Hiawatha was 
the god presiding over fisheries and streams, 
who was sent to earth to aid the Indians, and 
taking location upon Cross lake, he pursued his 
mission, until the Five Nations being threatened 
by powerful enemies, were by him banded into 
the federation which made the Nations strong 
and invincible; the mission of Hiawatha being 
completed, after the tragic death of his beloved 
daughter, he was carried back to heaven in his 
white canoe. The scene of the translation is 
located on the highlands, on the easterly shore 
of Onondaga lake, near Liverpool. The plan of 
Hiawatha has commanded the admiration of in- 
vestigators of schemes of human government 
and is pronounced wonderful in its scope and 
effects. The speech of Hiawatha, as rendered 
by Clark, is a masterpiece of oratory and com- 
manding power. Another version is, that Hia- 
watha, the wise man, was a Mohawk, who by 
his ability and tact was called to the head of the 
Five Nations, and that after he had served them 
by forming the confederacy, being a very old 
man, he returned to his tribe, and that he died 



68 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and was buried at the Mohawk village, in a spot 
on the Mohawk river, near the present city 
of Schenectady. The spot is pointed out to 
vistiors. 

The early Christian colonists, mainly religious 
propagandists, instead of furthering the Indi- 
an's welfare, cultivated divisions, encouraged 
strife and war, kept alive the savage spirit, and 
by these means hoped themselves to profit. The 
Indians welcomed the whites as gods, and 
learned to despise them. The rivalries of the 
British and French for the control of the new 
country kept up tumultuous wars for a century, 
and it was not till the close of the revolutionary 
war, and the cementing of the union of states, 
that peaceful relations were established. The 
Five Nations sympathized and co-operated with 
the British during the revolution, but soon came 
to respect and to live on good terms with the 
Americans. In the prior Indian wars were the 
origin of the antiquities that filled the Onondaga 
country, and that have given rise to much con- 
jecture and speculation. 

Characteristics of the Onoiidagas 

The Onondagas were, of the Nations, most 
inclined to agriculture and the pursuits of peace, 
although they numbered the bravest of the Iro- 
quois warriors. They supphed products of the 



INDIAN CHARACTERISTICS 



69 



soil to others in exchange for prizes of the chase. 
They prospered and grew rich, and thus were 
excited the envy of 
other tribes and the 
cupidity of the 
whites. The trader 
and pioneer, Eph- 
raim Webster, who 
came among the 
Onondagas in 1786 
and was adopted 
into the nation, and 
Uved with the On- 
ondagas and Onei- 
das for a quarter of 
a century, declared 
in 1812 that " the 
Indians have no al- 
tercations, and that so-wa-no-noh (captain sam 

in ten years i have (pirst war chief of the Onoudagas, ISSO, and 

not heard an angry principal civii chief, isea.) 

expression nor seen any degree of passion. 
They treated their women with respect, even 
tenderness. They used no ardent spirits. They 
settled differences amicably, raised wheat and 
corn in considerable quantities, and also apples." 
Up to this day apple trees set out by the In- 
dians are found along the banks of Onondaga 
creek. 




70 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The prehistoric settlement of the Onondaga 
country left insufficient traces of a definite 
record of the people, their habits, customs and 
conditions. They were kin to the Mound-build- 
ers of the west. Their successors were the abo- 
rigines, whose earlier identification also is in- 
complete and unsatisfactory. The early Ouon- 
dagas made a history in large part unintelligible, 
but as retained, mostly in legend and tradition, 
by its exaggeration challenges our credulity. 
The tales of great wars and mighty achieve- 
ments, of races of stone men and giants, and other 
monstrosities, and of wonderful beings whose 
attributes reached into supernatural realms, and 
stretched imagination to its farthest, constitute 
a poetic and visionary record which must be 
accepted only with very large allowance. 

These Onondaga Indians were a migratory 
people, living in villages, and subsisting upon 
fishing and hunting and some cultivation of the 
soil. The villages were occupied until the sup- 
plies of food and fuel at hand were exhausted, 
and then were deserted for more favorable loca- 
tions. These people were intelhgent and shrewd, 
masters of speech and persuasion, and they 
held a strong control of the confederated nations 
of which they were a part. They were wailike, 
and by their bravery and prowess made them- 
selves heard and respected in peace and in war. 



THE ONONDAGAS' ARRIVAL 71 

Coming of the Onondagas 

They came to the Onondaga country about 
350 years ago, from the northeast, and their 
successive villages, their burial places and other 
vestiges are variously located in these central 
regions, whose fertile lands, prolific fishing and 
hunting grounds were attractive and resourceful. 

They have been at or near the Onondaga res- 
ervation for about a century and a half. They 
conquered their way on coming hither and they 
held their own remarkably in the long series of 
conflicts they were engaged in. The French 
sought alliance with them, from 1650 to 1750, 
during which period the French Jesuits brought 
to bear upon the Onondagas every resource of 
their religion and every power of persuasion to 
enhst their friende.hip and allegiance. The Brit- 
ish became rivals and antagonists of the French 
and finally supplanted them. 

In the war of the Revolution the Onondagas 
were allies of the British; but at the close of 
hostilities they became reconciled to the Ameri- 
cans and good relations have since continued. 
By treaties entered into about 110 years ago 
the Indian lands began to pass into the hands of 
the whites, and by purchases and treaties since 
the Indians have finally become confined to 
their reservations. It was with the Onondagas 
that the first white settlers here came to trade 



72 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and barter, and upon this business the first 
settlements were founded. But broader rela- 
tions opened up to the whites, the settlements 
became permanent and the whites prospered. 

The Onondaga country, as it was widely 
known, was at the beginning of this century 
opened up to New England immigration, and 
was rapidly populated by a superior class of 
people. Then the New England tide surged 
over and beyond this region and made its way 
across the great Cayuga lake bridge into the 
Genesee country beyond, and later on into the 
far West, there laying the foundations for the 
great state of Ohio and its sister states between 
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and the Great 
Lakes. 

The Onondaga Tillages 

The Iroquois, breaking from their servitude 
to the Algonquins or Adirondacks, migrated from 
beyond the St. Lawrence to the southwest, 
coming through Lake Ontario, up the Oswego 
river to what is now Three Rivers, and there 
dividing into five nations, a part going east and 
a part west, the central nation, the Onondagas, 
proceeding beyond Oneida lake to a village site 
near where Fenner, Madison county, now stands 
(1620), then to near the site of the present vil- 
lage of Jamesville (1680) and then (1720) to 
what is now known as Onondaga Castle, near 



INDIAN VILLAGES 73 

which they had at different times three villages. 
These ' ' Sons of the Hills ' ' or • ' Men of the 
Mountains " had the care of the sacred fires of 
the Iroquois, and at the Long House in their vil- 
lage were held the grand councils on all matters 
of peace, war and general concerns. They were 
a sacred nation, the head chief of the Iroquois 
was from their number, and their chiefs w^ere 
potential in the affairs of the nations. 

The Onondagas learned the art of agriculture 
in a rude way from their predecessors, the AUe- 
ghans, and among the products of the soil was 
tobacco, wild plants of which are still met with 
in the Valley. During the conflicts of the French 
and English for j^ossession of this region battles 
were fought in the Onondagas' country, many 
lives lost, villages burned, crops destroyed, and 
at times the sacred fires extinguished. The 
New England emigration, late in the eighteenth 
century, overran this country, and gradually the 
Indians were crowded into their reservation and 
the whites came into possession. 
Relia^ious Colonies 

The Jesuit priests, in the interest of French 
conquest and religion, operated in the Onondaga 
country for a hundred years before the settled 
conditions began. The religious stations were 
at the Indian villages, the religious teachers 
were received with favor and well treated, and 



74 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



much progress was made, only to be lost again. 
Two hundred and fifty years ago the mission 
bell rang out from the station on Onondaga 
lake, and afterwards was heard on the hills and 
in the valleys, but priests and missions were 
driven out in the strifes that later sprung up., 
Onondaga Cliiet'tsihis 
An illustration accompanying this paper is of 
Tah-to-tah. the boy-king of the Six Nations, at 
the age of 7 years in 18H2, 
when Clark, the historian, 
procured. his daguerreotype 
and presented it to the 
newly - formed Onondaga 
Historical association. He 
was the reputed grandson 
of the pioneer Ephraim 
Webster, a son of a daugh- 
ter of the famous Os-sa- 
hinta, and became king 
through the female line, 
which supplies all the prin- 
cipal chiefs of the Indians. 
He was an intelligent lad, 
with pleasant countenance, 
and muscular frame, eagle- 
„ ^ „ ,eyed and quick. He was 

(Boy Iviiig or Hereditary Head -^ ^ 

Chief of Six Nations, Grand- a Pagan and took part iu 

son of Kphraim Webster, , , . j? x i 

taken 1850.) tlic ccremomes of the 




INDIAN CHIEFTAINS 75 

Pagan party. He was Tlarry Webster, who 
identified the place of his birth on the Webster 
farm southeast of the Valley. 

There was a distinguished line of Six Nations 
and Onondaga chiefs. The Onondagas furnished 
the line of Six Nation head-chiefs. Some of 
them left a deep impress upon the affairs of 
their time. Os-sa-hin-ta, Captain Frost, was a 
great warrior and noted as a runner. He is 
remembered by some of the older people in the 
Valley. He is described as of noble character, 
fervid eloquence and unimpeachable integrity. 
No Indian in his time was as well versed as he 
in the genius and policy of the ancient govern- 
ment and the conducting of grand councils and 
in the practice and celebration of Indian rites. 
He died at Onondaga in 1846, aged 86 years. 
The picture herewith presented is copied from 
Thayer's oil portrait, painted a short time before 
the old chief's death and now in possession of 
the Historical association. 

De-hat-ka-tons, Abram LaFort, was Captain 
Frost's successor as head chief of the Ononda- 
gas. He was a son of LaFort the Brave, who 
led the Onondagas in the war of 1813, on the 
side of the United States, and was killed at the 
battle of Chippewa. This LaFort in his youth 
was a Christian convert; he was educated by 
Eleazer Williams, the French missionary, who 



76 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

was the reputed Dauphin of France, and by 
other teachers, and for three years was a student 
at the Geneva (Episcopal) academy. He after- 
ward was a teacher of Indian youth at Onon- 
daga, a regular attendant at the Episcopal 
church at Onondaga Hill, and was married to an 
Indian woman in that chuich. In after years 
he relapsed into paganism, and became the head 
of the Pagan party at Onondaga. He died in 
1848 at the age of 54 years. Great expectations 
were entertained of the value of LaFort's ser- 
vices in reforming the Onondagas, which in the 
end were disappointed. He was the last of the 
long line of distinguished head chiefs. His son, 
Daniel LaFort, succeeded to the chiefship, and 
was well liked by the whites. His death oc- 
curred recently at the Onondaga reservation. 

Oun-di-a-ga, a wise civil chief of the Onon- 
dagas, was famed in the closing years of the 
last and early years of this century. He died 
in 1839 at the supposed age of 100 years. He 
was always opposed to the Yankees, as he sneer- 
ingly called all whites, and at the battle of Her- 
kimer and the hostilities thereabout he was in 
the armed forces against this country. He also 
had a part in the Cherry Valley massacre. He 
later was engaged in the campaign in Ohio, and 
when tho English were there defeated he surren- 
dered and was afterwards friendly to the Ameri- 



OTHER NOTED CHIEFS 77 

cans. But to the last he was hostile to the 
yielding of Indian territory to the whites. He 
it was who in 1815 answered negotiations for 
concessions by inviting a white man to sit on a 
log with him, and as the talk progressed he 
gradually crowded the white to the end of the 
log. When asked what he meant, he answered : 
^' There, you whites, if allowed to sit down with 
us on a little piece of ground, on our borders, keep 
crowding, crowding till the Indian's land is very 
small; and finally we shall be driven out, until 
we are landless and helpless, as you have been 
crowded from this log; we shall too soon be at 
your mercy, as you were just now at mine; go 
tell your people that Oun-di-a-ga never will con- 
sent to parting with a foot of Indian lands. " In 
his old age this sturdy Indian was the mail car- 
rier between Oswego and Onondaga, and three 
times a week conveyed the mails, making the 
trip of forty miles, within ten hours, on foot. 
He was a commanding personality, and in his 
old age was looked upon by his people as a sage 
and oracle. He never made common with the 
whites, but was always honest and straightfor- 
ward. 

Other noted chiefs of the Onondagas have 
been friends of the pioneer settlers and promo- 
ters of the growth of white communities. 
" Handsome Lake " was a great prophet, a 



78 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Seneca, who lived with the Onondagas for a 
time; he was a noted character, a seer and 
teacher, who deh'vered a religion to the Indians; 
" Captain George,'' who fought at Chippewa 
with the Americans, was one of the worthies of 
the Onondagas, who is well remembered; he 
was true to his people and a friend to the whites. 
There are Christian and Pagan parties in the 
Onondaga nation, and they have the benefit of 
churches and schools and state aid. Their reser- 
vation is composed of fertile lands, tiraberlands 
and stone quarries, which have excited the cupid- 
ity of the whites surrounding them. The 
friendship of the Indians at an early date pro- 
moted the pioneer settlements, and the Indian 
history for a century and a half is closely con- 
nected with that of the pioneers in the Onon- 
daga country. 



F"iF--rH f=af=e:f? 
Scene of Early Traiisitions 

At Onondaga Valley may be seen the localities 
which earliest were associated with the transi- 
tions from aboriginal conditions to those of the 
permanent communities of whites, which sprung 
up in the last decade of the eighteenth century. 
Ephraim Webster was the first pioneer, although 
while he was making his mark at Onondaga, 
there were probably other white traders in this 
region, none of whom, however, made any per- 
manent settlement or impressed themselves upon 
the new civihzation. Webster, while still at the 
trading post at the mouth of Onondaga creek, 
was in close touch with the Indians. He was 
adopted into the Onondaga nation, and for some 
years lived with it. He was very servicable to 
the state as intermediary and interpreter, and 
for his services received the state grant of a mile- 
square of land, which he located on the west 
side of Onondaga valley. It was a fine tract of 
640 acres of the best land, well timbered and 
watered. The state's patent to Webster is dated 
April 12th, 17!)0, two years after the Danforths 
and himself landed at the Valley. Webster's 

(79) 



80 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

mile-square, Danforth's 250 acres, and Tyler's 
250 acres, embraced all of what is known as 
Onondaga Valley. Webster lived on what later 
was the Bostwick farm, near Dorwin's spring, 
and there his Indian family was reared. His 
son, Harry Webster, who was head chief of the 
Onondagas, visiting fifty years ago at R. R. 
Slocum's father's house, the Caleb Alexander 
place, told Mr. Slocum that he was born on the 
hill to the west. ' ' Up on that hill by the spring, 
me born, ' ' said Webster ; ' ' when little boy slid 
down hill on bark; then my father lived there." 

Ephraini Webster, the Pioneer 

The accounts of Webster are much confused, 
both by his own statements and those made by 
others. Dr. W. M. Beauchamp, who has inves- 
tigated carefully, says that Webster's own ac- 
count makes his birth as early as 1754, as he had 
reached twenty-one years during the Revolution, 
but it seems more probable that he was born in 
1756 or '57. He came into the Mohawk valley 
with Peter Yain, a Mohawk Indian, at the close 
of the Revolutionary war. He figured first as 
a trader on Onondaga lake in 1781:, and Benja- 
min Newkirk followed him in 1786, but soon 
died. Webster was the first supervisor of the 
town of Onondaga in 1798, and held the office 
for one year. The ging-seng trade with the Five 
Nations was old when Webster engaged in it. 



WEBSTER'S EXPERIENCES 81 

The Dutch and French carried on a large trade 
in it fifty years before his time. The Onondagas 
dig and sell it up to this day, Ging-seng is sent 
to China in large quantities, and by the Chinese 
is supposed to possess great medicinal virtues, but 
in this country is not especially valued. 

Stories related as experiences of Webster are 
not confirmed by Dr. Beauchamp's enquiries. 
Those related by Clark in his history, of the 
peril under the tomahawk, when by the clever 
devise of drinking his persecutor's health, he 
turned their deadly purpose into friendship, and 
that of the young Cayuga Indian, who after a 
year's probation returned to meet certain death, 
are not credited. Webster doubtless told of 
them as of others, and they were credited to 
him. Murders among the Indians were usually 
atoned by presents, as would have been the 
result in the young Cayuga's case. 

Webster married his white wife, Hannah 
Danks, in 1796, and their two sons lived at the 
Valley many years, Alonzo and Lucius H. Alonzo 
is said to have been much like old Ephraim, in 
his quiet common -sense ways and good habits. 
Ephraim was candid, straightforward, and ener- 
getic. Interesting relics of the family were 
burnt in the house where Lucius lived on the 
west side of the Valley. There are many de- 
scendants of Ephraim Webster in the southern 



f 



82 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

part of Onondaga and in Cortland county. He 
was related to those great New Englanders, 
Daniel and Noah Webster. He died at Tona- 
wanda in 1826, and was buried there. William 
Kirkpatrick some years ago identified Webster's 
grave. It is probable the town of Onondaga 
will at some time remove the remains to an 
honored place in that town, out of respect to the 
first white pioneer in the Onondaga country. 

Within nine years after Webster received title 
to his mile-square, he had sold every acre of it, 
and realized a large sum of money. One tract 
he sold to Joseph Forman, father of Joshua 
Forman, which included the Valley academy and 
church sites. 

Webster had a curious history in relation to 
his place of residence at the Valley. In the period 
of ten years, while living in the same house, 
he was a resident of three different counties, 
and of foui- towns. In 1788, he was in Mont- 
gomery county; in 1791, in Herkimer county, 
and in 1791:, in Onondaga county. In 1788, he 
was in Whitestown; afterwards in the town of 
Mexico ; then in Marcellus, and finally in Onon- 
daga. Few men have lived in so many counties 
and towns and not changed their domicile. 

Early Onondaga Valley Farms 

On the East road at the Valley, the first farm 
of 250 acres, farm lot 120, lying just south of 



EARLY FARMS AT THE VALLEY 83 

the old Seneca turnpike, and including the Arse- 
nal site, was patented to Comfort Tyler April 9, 
1796. Tyler built a dwelling at the corner, 
which was burned and a brick house now occu- 
pies its site. 

'Next to the Tyler farm was the 250 acres, Lot 
138, patented to Asa Dauforth April 9th, 1796. 
Next south was the 250 acres, Lot 147, patented 
to Sier Curtis at the same date. South of that 
was Lot 161, patented to Reuben Patterson on 
the same ^date. Beyond this farm is the Onon- 
daga Indian reservation. These farms extended 
from the east hill down to Onondaga creek. 
They have all been subdivided and are now in 
many owners. 

Lot 106 was patented to Daniel Earll and 107 
to Dr. Allen Beach. These tracts, with Dan- 
forth's mile-square, constituted the original 
Onondaga Hollow. These broad acres have been 
many times divided and subdivided. They now 
are in small but productive garden truck farms. 
Morris Webster, a grandson of Epliraim resid- 
ing in South Salina street, well remembered his 
grandfather, and told that when he was about 5 
years old, he saw many Indians come to the old 
homestead and indulge in cider, which at that 
time'was the heaviest beverage the Onondagas 
allowed themselves. Webster's widow married 
SamuePWyman, a man of wealth and promi- 



Si 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



nence. Until within eight or ten years many 
persons at the Valley had personal recollection of 
the original Webster. The decendants are 
numerous. 

Iroquois League 

Doctor Beauchamp, by his investigation, fixes 
the time of the Iroquois confederation, organ- 
ized by Hiawatha, at a Httle before 1600. It is 




^"^"S^^ """^^'^^^•^-'^^^^^^ 






vKisSv- 



^■^Z~tt££J:. 



ONOXDAGA COUNCIL HOUSE (LONG HOUSK) ON RESERVATION 

verified that in Kilo the Iroquois were still weak. 
The Clark legend of Hiawatha's formation of 
the league and of the death of his daughter and 
his translation in the white canoe, he treats as 



A 



THE IKOQUOIS LEAGUE 85 

fancifiii, although there is no doubt of Clark's 
having received it from the Indian chiefs Frost 
and LaFort. It bears a confusion of the divine 
and human. 

Hiawatha was an Onondaga, but became a 
Mohawk chief. According to Albert Cusick his 
name signified, " He who has lost his mind, but 
knows where to find it." Cross Lake was his 
home when in the Onondaga country. The 
" white canoe " was probably of birch bark, as 
the Onondagas made their canoes of red elm. 
The bird which destroyed Hiawatha's daughter, 
according to the legend, was the Hah-kooks, or 
white winter gull, and not the white heron, 
which is rare here. 

The departure of Hiawatha resembles the re- 
turn to heaven of the good deity in Canassatego's 
story, but was probably derived, Beauchamp 
thinks, from Christ's ascension. 

The proper pronunciation is Hi-a-wat-ha, as 
rendered by Jaris Pierce. 

In the story of Hiawatha, says Beauchamp, 
the serpents probably represent rifts, passed by 
canal cuts, and the opening of Onondaga lake 
the ditch dug at the outlet. 

The Onondagas and other inland nations used 
no salt until long after white men came hither. 
Unrecorded Civilizations 

On the occasion of the Pompey reunion thS' 
Hon. Luther K. Marsh, one of the most eloquent, 



86 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of the old town's sons, told of the mists of an- 
tiquity resting there. " There have heen en- 
acted upon the site of the present town, at some 
remote peiiod, " he said, " events which no pen 
has recorded and no tradition preserved. Gener- 
ations and races have preceded the present on 
this chosen part and disappeared. Whence they 
came, whither they went, is not yet ascertained ; 
mystery enclouds their origin, their life and 
their departure; conjecture starts her various 
theories, but authentic history is silent. The 
evidences of a former population, now extinct, 
are thick around us. A second growth of trees, 
of such age and magnitude as to take rank 
with the original forest, astonished those who 
thought they had come to a place entii'ely new. 
If when we were boys and girls a museum had 
been established here to hold the relics discov- 
ered in our soil, this would have been a famous 
resort for the curious and scientific. Here would 
have remained your stone tablet of Anno Domino 
1550, now reposing in the institute at Albany, 
whose hieroglyphics so many Oharapollions have 
endeavored to decipher. Here would have been 
collected not only the rude arrow-heads and 
granite tomahawks of the savage, but the proofs 
of a former and unknown civilization — the 
blacksmith's forge, iron implements of hus- 
bandry, fragments of earthenware, and church 



PERSONS OF PROMINENCE 87 

bells, and numerous coins and medals, whose 
devices and inscriptions age has obliterated. 
Long before the ancestors of the present resi- 
dents clambered here — long before the time when 
a bounty of five dollars was offered for a wolf's- 
scalp— there was embedded in the soil, since up- 
turned by the coulter, not only the utensils of 
peace, but the weapons of civilized warfare, 
guns and cannon, and cannon ball, indicating 
the advance in the arts both of living and kill- 
ing. It was of this profusion of relics of an- 
tiquity, no doubt, that, after modern chisels 
had done their artistic work, the soil of our own 
town was chosen for the clandestine deposit of 
the Gypsum Giant — not indigenous, but im- 
ported—the only humbug, as, with due modesty, 
w^e claim, Pompey ever turned out." 

Prominent Personalities 

Partly from personal recollection, but much 
more from impressions second hand, I have men- 
tally protrayed prominent men who figured in 
the pioneer times. There was gruff old General 
Danforth, who by his dignity and straightfor- 
wardness, commanded the respect of his fellow 
men and secured the friendship of the aborigines. 
He was the leader in the iirst enterprises that 
contributed greatly to the organization of society 
and the growth of communities here. His in- 
fluence extended into the country roundabout, 



88 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and was powerful in building the mills which 
provided sustenance for the people. He found 
the old mortar hollowed out of a tree, in which 
grain was pounded into flour by a wooden pestle, 
and he substituted the grist-mill for it. There 
stood till within recent memory the big wheel, 
overturned beside the old raceway of his grist 
and saw mill on the Onondaga creek just south- 
ward of the South avenue bridge over the creek. 
The bark of trees and saplings constituted the 
first habitations and he built the saw mills which 
made possible comfortable frame dwellings. It 
was he who brought the first saw and the first 
mill stone through the forests from the settle- 
ments in the Mohawk valley. It was he, in co- 
operation with Comfort Tyler and young Dan- 
forth, who boiled salt from the brine found in 
the salt licks on the marshes of Onondaga lake. 
His brilliant young associate, Comfort Tyler, 
felled the first trees, opened up the highways 
connecting the new settlement with the older 
ones, and devised the scheme of state roads that 
should constitute connections with the older 
civilization in the East. It was he who in the 
legislature of 1798-9 pushed through the splen- 
did project of the great Cayuga lake bridge, 
which supplied the sole feasible avenue for 
travel and transportation out of the East into 
the far West. 



STATE AID TO THE SALT INDUSTRY 89 

A little later Joshua Forman and James Ged- 
des were pioneers in the magnificent Erie canal 
project, and in legislative action and engineering 
determination contributed essentially to the suc- 
cess of the enterprise. 

It fell to Dr. William Kirkpatrick and his as- 
sociates to secure state aid to the salt industry, 
whose revenues in return contributed $3,500,- 
000 to the building of the great canal, and whose 
success was vastly promotive of the commercial 
supremacy of New York city and aided beyond 
all estimate in building up all this region and 
the entire line of canal counties. The repre- 
sentative men of that time here were foremost 
in all public enterprises and to them is due very 
much the impulse to the growth and prosperity 
of the Empire State. 



©IXTH f=»af=e:f=? 
Ponipey Hill «i Favored Section 

The pioneer settlers as a rule, in pushing their 
way into a new country, located upon the high- 
est ground, and made their homes there, because 
these were the healthiest and most eligible spots, 
while the valleys were wet and malarious. An 
exception was Onondaga Valley, which was a 
beautiful locality and near the Indian villages, 
where trading was advantageously carried on. 
The Pompey hills were early occupied, and 
being one of the original townships of the Mili- 
tary Tract, it was the home of some of the revo- 
utionary soldiers who liad bounty lands there. 
The first settler, Ebenezer Butler, after whom 
the place was first called, came hither four years 
after the Onondaga Valley settlement. New- 
England people filled the community. A church 
was formed in the year of Onondaga county's 
organization. Out of the early families were 
distinguished persons — Horatio Seymour, Charles 
Mason, Mrs. Lippincott, (Grace Greenwood), 
Erastus D. Palmer, the sculptor. Attorney Gen- 
eral George H. Williams, General H. W. Slo- 
cum, the Sedgwicks, the Gotts, the Wheatons, 
Birdeyes, Hiscocks and others. 

(90) 



SEYMOUR ON POMPEY 91 

A Frontier Station 

Governor Seymour, Id his address at the Pom- 
pey reunion in 1871, drew a beautiful picture of 
" this spot as one of the frontier stations of civ- 
ihzation. The first settlers, shunning the deeper 
and darker valleys, where luxuriant but exces- 
sive vegetation was fraught with disease and 
death, placed their homes upon the hilltops, 
where most readily they got air and light and 
outlook over the land covered as by a great 
ocean with green and Avaving foliage." The 
Governor spoke of looking of!" upon " the lower 
lands, where the city of Syracuse now stands 
with its 50,000 population, then a pestilential 
place, an unsightly swamp, in whose miasmatic 
air many si.-kened and died." The toil and en- 
ergy of the people who settled Pompey were 
given to felling trees in the winter months, the 
burning of the trunks and stumps in spring, the 
cultivation of crops in the summer, and the 
slender harvests in the fall, all painfully labori- 
ous and unremunerative. Simple food and 
scanty clothing were the rewards, and for these 
blessings the pioneers thanked God and were 
happy. 

Mr. Seymour dwelt upon social phases of the 
town's history. There had been marked changes 
in half a century. " At the outset society was 
crude, but it was free and void of shams and 



92 Pioneer times in onondaga 

hyprocricy. The people had a kind of teaching 
which was in some ways better than that gained 
by modern improvements in books and sciiools. 
At an early day, in poor communities, only 
those who were able to put up comfortable 
houses could entertain travellers. Hence, fifty 
years ago, inn-keepers were among the leading 
men. The village bar-room was not only made 
attractive by its ample space, and made cheerful 
by its great fires of logs and sticks, but it was 
also the common resort of men of all classes. 
The lawyer, the doctor, the clergyman, and men 
of business and labor met to talk over the affairs 
of town, state and nation." Mutual interests 
and wide acquaintance with all topics were thus 
promoted. There was a better knowledge of 
human nature then than now. The village bar- 
room had its evils and temptations; but with 
these done away with, its cheerful rooms and 
bright fires restored, and above all, its kindly 
and free intercourse among all classes renewed, 
there would be better morals and order through- 
out our social system, and we should have 
wiser and better men at the bar, in the pulpit, 
and in the halls of state and national legislation. 
There was a bright glimpse of the relaxations 
in the habits of the early time in the following 
remarks of Mr. Seymour: " The amusements 
of these old days were more robust than at this 




THE OLD TAVERN AT ONONDAGA VALLEY 



94 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

time. Physical strength and activity were ad- 
mired. Each town had ambitions of having the 
swiftest runner and the most skilful wrestlt^r. 
The battle with the forest could only be fought 
and won by hands hardened to toil and endur- 
ance. These were the qualities most admired, 
for they were the most needed. Our deacons 
would not now think of calling out the country 
to aid in lifting up the frames of their churches 
by a promise that some adventurous man would 
stand upon his head on the highest ball on the 
steeple's top, and twine his feet in the tines of 
the lightning rod. Yet the church which stands 
in its fair proportions on this village green was 
helped up by some such inducements. Pm sure 
the deacons now would not try to stimulate the 
sale of pews by putting a pail of punch on the 
pulpit stairs to warm up the spirits of the church 
members; yet I know that was the case when 
the pews were sold in the church near by. 
Nevertheless I think that it is true that in all 
social intercourse, in public morality, in official 
virtue, democracy was practiced better then than 
now\" This is, indeed, a glimpse of the meth- 
ods of the pioneers that will interest and amuse 
those of this generation, 

Poiiipcy's Origin and Orowih 

Pompey originally was Township No. lo of 
the Military Tract. It consisted of 100 lots. 



POMPEY SETTLERS 95 

which by the setting off of territory to other 
towns were reduced to 68 lots. Before erection 
as a town it was a part of the town of Mexico, 
Herkimer county. It was settled principally 
from Mew England and ol)tained great celebrity 
in its earlier years. John Wilcox was the first 
white settler; he came with an Indian from 
Oneida, and located about tw^o miles north of 
present Lafayette village. Here was one of the 
most famous Indian apple orchards. It is related 
in Clark's that in each of the trees of this old 
orchard there was a singular collection of sticks 
or brush; and it was explained that after the 
Van Schaick expedition this locality was deserted 
by the Indians, the place was overrun by bears, 
which climbing the trees and eating the apples 
from the limbs, drew under them the twigs, which 
formed a seat for them and these seats were the 
bunches of twigs about the size of a half- bushel 
measure. The Indians burned the Wilcox har- 
vests in retaliation for the digging into Indian 
graves to get the brass kettles and other relics. 
The digging was stopped under this admonition, 
and the burning of the crops also ceased. 

The first settler in the present towm of Poni- 
pey was Ebenezer Butler, sr., who had served 
under Washington in the Revolution; he came 
with his son, El)enezer, jr., who also was a 
revolutionary soldier, and was one of the "■ prison- 



96 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ship ' ' prisoners of the British in New York 
harbor, and locating on the site of Pompey Hill, 
built several dwellings on the best situations, 
and was for a lifetime active in local affairs. 
The place was called after him Butler's Hill, 
until 1811 it was renamed by Surveyor Moses 
DeWitt, Pompey Hill. The senior Butler in 
June, 1794, led the organization of the first 
Presbyterian society of Pompey, which is 
claimed to be the first religious organization in 
Onondaga county, which then embraced all the 
Military Tract. He also was a member of the 
First Congregational church, organized in 1800. 
The first settlers were nearly all from New Eng- 
land and they brought with them the ideas and 
aspirations of the colonies. They passed through 
all the hardships and privations incident to pio- 
neer life. 

The region was heavily timbered and clear- 
ings were difficult. At first all domestic supplies 
were brought on men's backs from Whitestown. 

Then the stump mill was put in operation, 
and soon the corn and wheat raised by the set- 
tlers were ground into flour. 

Moses Dewitt, the surveyor, was the first 
Supervisor. 

At the first town meeting it was voted that 
"hogs be free commoners," and a $5 a head 
bounty on wolves was levied. 



A FAMOUS CHARACTER 97 

Ebenezer Butler, the father of the town, was 
Supervisor for several years. 

After the Presbyterian society came the Bap- 
tist, the Congregational, and Methodist socie- 
ties; the Roman Catholics came in 1823 and 
have grown rapidly. Physicians, teachers and 
lawyers followed in quick order and did much 
to build the town. 

Pompey led in educational enterprises. The 
early teachers were from New England and were 
embued with the spirit of that region. The 
Pompey academy, established in 1811, gave the 
town a fine literary reputation. 

The industrial interests were rapidly devel- 
oped. Grist and saw mills were erected on the 
favorable sites before 1800, and the fine w^ater 
powers were utilized in various ways. 

A Revolutionary Hero 

Conrad Bush, one of the first German settlers 
in Onondaga county, located on his military lot. 
No. 37, in 1800. He was a famous character, 
having served in Colonel Lamb's artillery regi- 
ment and engaged in the battles of Long Island, 
Trenton and Princeton and was at the capture 
of Cornwallis at Yorktown. General Lafay- 
ette on his visit here in 1826 recognized Bush, 
and he also was a favorite with Timothy Picker- 
ing, who was Washington's war secretary. 



98 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

What Antiquities Evidence 

The antiquities of old Pompey are the most 
extensive and interesting in Onondaga county, 
not excepting those of the prolific region round 
about Oneida lake. They show the presence of 
the aboriginal people, whose only records are in 
the relics and remains that are unearthed by the 
present settlers, and which, without tongues, 
yet speak an eloquent language. The evidences 
in Pompey, as well as in Manlius, Dewitt and 
Camillus, show the period of the Jesuit occupa- 
tion and that of the traders in the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries. Forts, mounds, utensils, 
burying grounds and other vestiges indicate the 
occupation of civilized races in a former age. 
Civilization is recorded by the relics of metallic 
arms, instruments and utensils of the soldier, 
artisan, mechanic and farmer; and before that 
was an era when the arts of agriculture and war 
were carried on with impliments of wood, stone, 
clay and shells. 

Pompey' Hill was for years one of the most 
prominent places in Onondaga county. It was 
noted for the wealth and refinement of its peo- 
ple, and the educational facilities it enjoyed. It 
was a center of statesmanship, law and litera- 
ture. Pompey is a widely recognized mother of 
public men who have left their impress upon the 
affairs of the state and nation. 



EARLY HISTORY DUPLICATED 99 

In the early days wild animals abounded in 
the dense forests with which the hill was covered. 
Bears, foxes, wolves, panthers and other ani- 
mals were ' plentiful. At last they were killed 
off or driven away. Descendants of the pio- 
neers, to this day, repeat thrilling stories of en- 
counters with wild beasts that have been handed 
down from generation to generation. 

The early history of old Pompey is duplicated 
in Pompey Center, Pompey Hollow, Delphi, and 
Oran, as well as in many other places in the new 
country. Pioneer times were about the same in 
all the communities. This region in particular 
was heavily timbered and the conquering of new 
homes and the introduction of civilized living 
were no easy enterprises. But the hardy pio- 
neers overcame all obstacles; settlements were 
speedily founded, and beautiful communities 
sprang into existance. There were hardships 
and privations in the early years, but the labors 
of the sturdy settlers were persistent aud hopeful 
and at last were crowned with success. The people 
prospered and their etforts were remunerated. 
Notable was the growth of schools, and note- 
worthy were the records of men and women sent 
out from them, who became promiueot in the 
world of science, art, literature and public 
affairs. Pompey has been the birthplace of as 
remarkable a galaxy of public men as any other 
spot in the land 

LofC. 



100 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Prehistoric Coiinnuiiities 

Back of the generations of which we have 
knowledge there are unmistakable indications 
of earlier settlements and civilization; in all 
the region there are relics of a preceding race of 
civilized people, which have been unearthed to 
the aroused interest and curiosity of the genera- 
tions of present civilized people. Eemains of 
early forts and fortifications still are preserved. 
Indian traditions tell that the region has been 
desperately fought over, and it is a singular fact 
that the Onondagas of these times seldom visit 
the locality. They look upon it as " a field of 
blood," and legend refreshes the old-time mem- 
ories. 

The general description of pioneer times in 
the old town of Pompey applies to Fabius, Lafay- 
ette and Tully, which were in whole or in part 
erected from old Pompey. 



SEVENTH F=Af=ER 

01(1 Time Dwellings 

On the hillside oveilooking the beautiful On- 
ondaga Valley there still stands an old log-house. 
A third of a century ago many like it were scat- 
tered through the Onondaga country, nearly all 
of which have given place to the march of im- 
provement. This particular log-house is of 
hewed logs and two stories, a somewhat more 
pretentious structure than most of its time and 
kind. Indeed, it represents the aristocratic side 
of pioneer life. It was a rare dwelhng in its 
day, and many and fine were the scenes that 
were enacted under its hospitable roof. Hewed 
logs were luxuries in the early time ; they cost 
labor and money. The usual dwelling was of 
rough logs, and of one story, while this had two. 
It was cheaper and easier to build two rooms 
side by side, or with a passageway between 
them than to build one over the other. The 
stockade log-houses were 2-storied, with port- 
holes in the second story. In the 2 -storied 
house, at the hour of retiring, the guest bade 
the host good-night, took his tallow dip and 
climbed the ladder iuto the sleeping floor. 

(101) 



102 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

These houses dated at the close of the last cen- 
tury. The turn-pike was the popular highway 
at the time these dwellings were in vogue, and 
it was on the certainty that the pike was to run 
that way that the better class of log-houses 
were located. These log-houses succeeded the 
bark huts, and were ever so much more com- 
fortable. A well-built log-house is a perma- 
nency. It is not subject to decay, and the few 
that remain in the earlier settled places are still 
dry and comfortable. What a contrast between 
the old log-house on the pike and the modern 
residence on the asphalt and near the trolley 
line. It notes the changed civihzation, and yet 
the intelligence and wisdom may not be as far 
apart as the modern improvements indicate. 
Looking out from the old log-house on the Onon- 
daga hill and getting a glimpse of the great 
community huddled in the lower end of Onon- 
daga Valley, best tells the changes in a hundred 
years. 

The Early Groundwork 

Old Onondaga, says the Eev. Avery R. Pal- 
mer in his centennial discourse, was, when the 
treaty of peace with Great Britain was signed 
September 3d, 17S3, " an unfenced desolation of 
Indians and swamps, forests and mountains." 
After Webster, the pioneer, came the Danforths 
and Tyler, permanent settler. " Danforth was 



EARLY GROUNDWORK 103 

a man of remarkable character, indomitable in 
energy and determination, with strong anticipa- 
tion of the needs of a new country. He erected, 
m 1792, on Butternut creek, a little north of 
Jamesville, the first saw mill in the county, 
bringing the mill saw on his back from Fort 
Schuyler. The next year he built the first grist 
mill in the county, the nails, gearing, belting, 
etc., being brought on Indians' backs from Al- 
bany. Citizens volunteered from long distances 
around, and hands were hired from as far as 
Herkimer to help in the building of the dams 
and mills — the workmen living in bark huts, 
and on raising day sixty -four men were present. 
The second grist and saw mill in the county was 
built by Danforth on Onondaga creek (near the 
present South avenue bridge in Syracuse), in 1793, 
In the fall of 1793 a 19-year-old boy named 
Hall carried on his back a bushel of corn to 
Danforth 's mill, fifteen miles distant, and had 
it ground into corn meal, which he carried back 
home in the same way he brought it, and the 
family relished that feast of genuine corn meal 
so well that the thinly-settled neighborhood 
imitated the enterprising boy's exploit frequently 
till a mill was erected near by. 

The First raverii iii the County 

Benjamin Morehouse, in 1790, kept the first 
tavern in Onondaga county. It was located 



lOtt PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

three miles west of Manlius and enjoyed much 
fame. The landlord supplied his table with 
wheat flour brought on men's backs from Her- 
kimer. 

The Supply of Food 

Provisions for the young communities also 
were brought from Whitestown and from Tioga, 
Pa. There were strong ties between the settlers 
here and those in the northern central Pennsyl- 
vania regions. The early trade in salt was 
mostly with other interior settlements, where 
the article was scarce. In 1792 and '93 the set- 
tlers here suffered severely for want of provis- 
ions, and on several occasions boats were sent 
across Onondaga lake from Salt Point to Oswego 
and thence to Kingston, to procure needed sup- 
piles of food. Captain Canute of a trading boat 
between Albany and Salt Point brought grocer- 
ies and provisions for the Onondaga settlers, 
and received his pay in captured animals and 
their skins. He is said often to have taken back 
to Albany young bears, wolves, coons, foxes, 
fawns, etc., which were very plentiful in the 
new country. Deer were numerous, and be- 
came so domesticated that they herded with the 
cattle and often were found with them in the 
cow yards. Captain Canute had a standing offer 
for young bears, which were furnished him, for 
sale at Albany. 



EARLY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE 105 

Great Merclmiits 

There was in early years of the country the 
general store, which had in country districts 
about the same relation that the department 
store of this time has to cities. The general 
store was situated at cross roads in settled locali- 
ties, and in it was carried on all branches of 
trade. John Meeker was the great store-keeper 
of 1800. He had a number of general stores 
located in eligible communities, and he was a 
great and successful merchant of his time. Mr, 
Meeker discovered the ability and worth of Aza- 
riah Smith of Manlius, whom he made his 
partner and introduced to business. Mr. Smith 
was one of the marked men of his time. He 
was not only a great merchant, but generally 
a man of affairs, who was universally trusted 
with large responsibilities and was relied upon for 
the discharge of trusts. No considerable enter- 
prise of his time but had his aid and encourage- 
ment. His sons followed in his footsteps, and 
are distinguished in business and the sciences. 

Others who were prominent in large degree as 

merchants were Jonas C. Baldwin and Otis Bige- 

low of Ly Sander, and Eeuben and Simeon West 

in Onondaga, and Thomas McCarthy of Salina. 

Steuben and the First Born 

The first birth in a new settlement is quite an 
event. At the public house of John Schaeffer, 



106 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

in Maalius, in 1792, Baron Steuben and party, 
who had been to lay out a block-house at Sahna, 
were guests for a night. There was a child born 
in the house that night. In the morning the 
Baron roundly swore at the landlord for allow- 
ing people to come and go during the nighttime, 
to the sore disturbance of guests. When the 
midwife brought in the new-born babe and ex- 
hibited the little fellow to the Baron, he not only 
humbly apologized for his wrathy outbreak, but 
bestowed his own name and the gift of a deed 
for 250 acres of good farm lands upon the cause 
of his discomfort. 

First Salt Muimfacture 

Danforth and Tyler inaugurated the salt man- 
ufacture at Salt Point in 1789. They utilized a 
salt lick in the rear of the old pump-house at 
Salina. Danforth carried on his head a 5-quart 
kettle, from the Valley, and Tyler carried other 
tools. They put up crotched sticks as a support 
to the pole from which the kettle was suspended, 
and in twelve hours they boiled thirteen bushels 
of salt, which was taken to the Valley for do- 
mestic use, and a part of the product was sent 
to Quebec. The settlers for several years made 
the salt for their own use in this manner. The 
fame of the salt manufacture drew people from 
many places in the East and the community 
rapidly grew. From the suspension of kettles 



FIRST SALT MANUFACTURE lOT 

from poles, was the setting of kettles on piles of 
stones, then the erection of roofs to the rude 
works, then the setting of a cauldron kettle in 
an arch, and finally the construction of fine 
salt boiling blocks of from 20 to 104 kettles, 
which was pretty near the perfection of the 
method of the manufacture. Tall chimneys and 
the use of coal for fuel (after the soft wood sup- 
plies within easy reach were exhausted), were 
the amplification of the early process of fine salt 
making. The first genuine salt works was set 
up by Isaac Van Vleck in 1793 (whose grandson, 
James Van Vleck, is now living), and the first 
salt made in a permanent building was by Elisha 
Alvord, father of Thomas G. Alvord, in 1793. 
The enterprise was extended to Geddes by James 
Geddes in 1795, to Liverpool by John Danforth 
in the next year, and the first wells were opened 
in Syracuse in 1830. The introduction and 
adaptation of mechanical processes from the dip- 
ping of the brine by pails up to the pumping by 
water and steam power, were advances made in 
a series of years. The Onondaga Salt springs 
reservation, a tract of 15,000 acres, surrounding 
Onondaga lake, was established in 1797, and set 
apart for the location of salt works. The territory 
was reduced to 550 acres by sales about 1820, then 
increased by purchases, and finally has mostly 
fallen into the ownership of land speculators. 



108 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Where the Brine is Found 

The brine of the Onondaga Salt springs is lo- 
cated in the basin ot* the Onondaga creek, and 
the salt wells are sunk in the drift deposits un- 
derlying the valley, the stronger where the old 
valley is the deepest. At the head of the valley, 
under the foothills, rock salt deposits have been 
discovered and utilized by the Solv^ay Process 
company. The Onondaga salt manufacture has 
fallen into decadence in the last quarter of a cen- 
tury, and now is in close compass. Competition 
of the salines in Western New York and Michi- 
gan, where advantages in strength of brine, in 
cheaper fuel and lower transportation rates exist, 
has narrov/ed the market for Onondaga salt 
to the Atlantic coast, where it comes into com- 
petition with foreign salt. Various experiments 
have been made in improved, cheaper methods 
of manufacture, but they have not saved local 
business. The Solvay works continue to use 
large quantities of salt water from the Tully 
wells in their products. The boiling or fine 
works on the Onondaga reservation are nearly 
extinct, but the solar or coarse works are still 
maintained in part. Syracuse and the adjacent 
communities have had their boom from the salt 
manufacture, and the impulse thus received is 
kept up on other lines of manufacture and 
business. 



DISCOVERY OF SALT SPRINGS 109 

Did the Indians Make Salt I 

It is claimed in the books that as early as lT7o 
the Indians made some salt and that the Onon- 
dagas traded it with other tribes. But Doctor 
Beauchamp says that the Indians made no t^alt 
until after the white man began the manufac- 
ture. The first white man's record of the exis- 
tance of salt at Onondaga lake was by Father 
LeJMoyne in 1653, 2-tT years ago. He came with 
a party of Huron and Onondaga chiefs as an 
envoy, to ratify a treaty of peace between the 
two nations, in which the French in Canada 
were concerned. His discovery and the declar- 
ation of it greatly surprised the Dutch at New 
Amsterdam, who pronounced it " a Jesuit lie." 
Father Lallamout wrote of "salt fountains" at 
Onondaga, and other Jesuit fathers a little later 
gave minute descriptions of the salt springs. 
The Onondaga valley was explored by these 
visitors and excellent descriptions are recorded 
of it from their pens. 

The first manufacture of salt in any consider- 
able quantity was by Nathaniel Loomis, a resi- 
dent at Bridgewater, who in the fall of 1798 
came from Oneida lake and river to Salt Point, 
and during the winter boiled some 500 or 600 
bushels of salt, which he sold for a dollar a 
bushel. Moses DeWitt and William Van Vleck 
entered into the first partnership for the making 



110 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of salt in 1793, and with four potash kettles 
manufactured all the salt the settlers needed and 
some for sale elsewhere. The salt blocks were 
first built of logs, like the dwelhngs, and in 
1798 the first large company for the salt manu- 
facture on a large scale was formed, and thence 
on the business prospered. The salt duties paid 
the state contributed upwards of three and a 
half million dollars towards the construction of 
the Erie canal. 



EICSHTH F=AF=EF? 

Labors of the French Jesuits 

Antecedent to the pioneer times in the Onon- 
daga country were the vigorous enterprises of 
the French Eoman Cathohcs to convert the 
Iroquois and by this means attach them and 
their country to the kingdom of France. All 
this region was called New France, and expe- 
dition after expedition under Jesuit priests was 
sent on this mission of proselyting to Christian- 
ity and enlarging the French dominion. The 
labors of the French Jesuits are described in the 
Relations, which in detail tell of the marvelous 
work done in the Onondaga country: by Father 
LeMoyne's Journal, detailing his visit here in 
1653, and by the Relations from 1655 continued 
in various chapters to 1709. The English en- 
tered into competition with the French for the 
favor of the Onondagas, whose territory w^as 
the central part of the Iroquois possessions, 
which was coveted by these two European pow- 
ers. The English supplanted the French, who 
never seemed to gain the Indians' full confidence, 
and in the war of the revoluton were with Great 
Britain against the Americans, but after the 

(111) 



112 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

close of the war were reconciled to the Ameri- 
cans and became their alhes and fast friends. 

Protestant Missions 

The Protestant missionary efforts dated from 
the efficient endeavors of the Eev. John Eliot, 
for the conversion of the ISiew England tribes 
early in the seventeenth century, and his transla- 
tion of the Bible, Catechism and Psalms of David 
into the Indian tongue. His Bible, thus trans- 
lated, was the first publication of the Scriptures 
on the American continent. About 1700 syste- 
matic efforts began for the christianizing of the 
Six Nations. With the Bible went the building 
of a fort and a chapel. Queen Anne undertook 
the winning of the aborigines, and her appro- 
priations for chapels for each of the nations 
were accompanied by elaborate communion ser- 
vices of silver, which were suitably inscribed. 
The Queen Anne chapel at Onondaga was never 
built, and the Queen Anne communion service 
for the Onondagas got as far as Albany, where 
it has remained. Sir William Johnson was later 
an efficient promoter of the missions. He visited 
the Onondagas on several occasions, and has left 
good accounts of the conditions as he found them. 
Interesting but not very profitable missionary 
enterprises continued during the rest of the sev- 
enteenth century, and the more candid of the 
accounts frankly state that few Indians were 



PROMINENT MISSIONARIES 113 

converted and that the aborigines preferred to 
adhere to the rehgion of their fathers. In 1750 
the Moravian Brothers undertook a mission at 
Onondaga, bat the enterprise lasted only about 
three years. This was the fate of succeeding 
missions. 

Prominent Missionaries 

The Rev. Samuel Kirkland came from Massa- 
chusetts to the Oneidas in 1766 and continued a 
brave work till the war of the Revolution broke 
out. After the war he came into the field again, 
and continued his systematic and useful work 
among th(? Oneidas and Onondagas and was 
helpful to the government in arranging peaceable 
relations with the Six Nations, keeping up his 
good work till his death in 1S08. He was the 
first Protestant preacher in the Onondaga 
country. 

The Rev. Eleazur Wilhams, who figured later 
as the reputed French Dauphin, took up the work 
among the Indians and as an Episcopal mission- 
ary did a good deal for them. He labored assid- 
uously among the Onondagas. Solomon Davis 
was also a serviceable missionary up to the time 
of LaFort. The churches now existing on the 
Onondaga reservation, which have had the spec- 
ial attention of the Episcopalians and Methodists, 
were outgrowths of these early mission labors. 



114 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Early Settlers Built Churches and Schools 

The settlers of the hills and valleys of the 
Onondaga country who came hither on the coun- 
ty's organization in 1791, brought with them 
their New England traits, and at once declared 
the need of churches and schools in the new 
country. They had no sooner constructed habi- 
tations in which to live, than they turned their 
attention to the building of meeting houses and 
school-houses. They transplanted the institutions 
of their early homes into their new homes. Re- 
ligion and education went hand in hand with the 
pioneers, and the good order, prosperity and suc- 
cess of the new settlements were due to these 
institutions which marked the character of the 
people. 

First Churclies in the County 

There were church societies organized in On- 
ondaga and Pompey in the year the county was 
formed, 1791; the churches erected were the 
Presbyterian at Onondaga Hill, and the Congre- 
gational, later Presbyterian, at Pompey Hill 
(then Butler's Hill), in 1818. The Pompey Hill 
church, is to-day as it was when constructed, ex- 
cepting that the old-style high pews have been 
replaced with modern pews. The Onondaga 
Hill church has been considerably repaired. A 
picture of this church edifice is given herewith. 
They are both of the same general style and 




PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT ONONDAGA HILL 



116 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

build. This was a peculiarity of the first 
churches erected in Onondaga county and other 
parts of Central New York. They all are after 
the same pattern, in form of main structure, 
in columns at the front, in style of steeple, 
in the windows, and other particulars. The 
old Presbyterian church at Whitestown, Oneida 
county, was on the identical plan of the 
churches at Onondaga Hill and Valley and 
Loomis Hill, at Pompey, at Otisco, at Orville, 
at Fayettville, at Manlius, and in Salina and 
Syracuse. They were plain but well appearing 
and comfortable, reasonably inexpensive, and 
conspicuous objects in the landscape. The build- 
ers were in most instances the same, and prob- 
ably the plans for one served very nearly for all 
the others. 

An old Massachusetts church, whose 250th 
anniversary was recently celebrated, is on the 
same general plan, and looks just like these On- 
ondaga church edifices. 

In Onondaga, at the Hill, the Onondaga Re- 
ligious society, later the First Presbyterian so- 
ciety, was formed at the log tavern of Daniel 
Earll, about 1802, The Rev. Dirck Lansing was 
pastor in 1806-9. The edifice was erected in 
1818, and still stands. The Onondaga Hollow 
Religious society (Presbyterian) was formed in 
1809, when the Rev. Dirck Lansing became its 



OTHER CHURCH SOCIETIES 117 

pastor. The church edifice ^vas built in Is 10, 
and has been in use ever since. A distinguished 
line of preachers have occupied its pulpit, among 
them the Eev. Caleb Alexander, the founder of 
the academy, and a man great, both as preacher 
and teacher, 

St. John's Episcopal church was organized at 
the Hill in 1803, by the Eev. Davenport, the 
pioneer Episcopal minister in this region. It was 
here that the Indian chief LaFort was married 
in 1828. It was the first Episcopal parish in the 
county, and in 1816, it was succeeded by Zion's 
church, its bell was brought to Syracuse, and its 
organ taken to Jordan. Father Geer was long 
its rector and divided his pastorate between this 
church and the Onondagas at the reservation. 
The Baptist church at Howlett Hill was formed 
in 1804. 

The first religious society at Pompey. origin- 
ally the Congregational, was organized by the 
Rev. A. R. Robinson of Norfolk, Conn., with 
twenty-seven communicants, in 1794, and since 
1810 has been Presbyterian, with a growth to 
upwards of 300 members. The early meetings 
were held in the school-house and then the acad- 
emy, until in 1818 the church was erected, and 
has remained as at first, excepting the moderniz- 
ing of the pews. The list of pastors contains 
distinguished names, whose bearers later went 



118 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

into broader fields. The pulpit has been occupied 
since 1798. The same year at Scipio, then a 
town of the Onondaga country, the Presbyteri- 
ans organized a society, and the next year the 
Baptists did the same. In Pompey only the 
Presbyterian, Disciples and Eoman Catholic 
churches now are maintained. 

In Marcellus the Eastern society was organ- 
ized in 1801, and its church was erected in 1803, 
and still stands. It is gazetted as being " the 
only meeting house at the time it was built be- 
tween New Hartford and the Pacific ocean." 
St, John's Episcopal society was formed in 1824, 
and its church was built in 1832; Universahsts 
and Methodists followed. 

In Skaneateles there was a Congregational so- 
ciety formed in 1801, and its church built in 
1807; St. John's Episcopal church, 1816; and 
Baptist and Methodist later. 

Fabius had a Baptist society in 1805 and its 
church was built in 1806. 

Tully had a Presbyterian society in 1804; Bap- 
tists and Methodists came later. 

Otisco had a Congregational society in 1804, 
with a church in 1807, and a new church in 
1816; the Methodists came next. 

Spafford had a Methodist society in 1800, and 
Baptist in 1816. 

At Camillus the Baptists organized in J 816, 



MOKE CHURCHES IN THE TOWNS 119 

and the same year built a church; Presbyterians 
and Methodists in 1830. 

In Lysander the First Presbyterian church of 
Baldwins ville was organized in 1813, and Grace 
Episcopal church in 1838. 

At Cicero Corners a meeting house was built 
of logs for the Presbyterian society in 1819, 
succeeded by a frame structure in 1830, which 
still stands; Baptist church in 1832, and Meth- 
odists later. 

Clay early had a Dutch Reformed church ; in 
1838 the Baptists built a church; Methodists 
followed. 

In original Manlius, the Presbyterians had a 
society at Bloomingdale, near James ville, in 1795, 
and the Episcopalians a society in 1797, which 
was attended by residents of Manlius and Pom- 
pey, with a stated rector in 1804, and church 
erected in 1813. A Union Congregational church 
was at Morehouse Flats in 1805. 

At Jamesville in Dewitt a Congregational 
church was erected in 1829, Methodist in 1831. 

At Orville a Presbyterian church was built in 
1819. 

In Camillus, the First Congregational society 
was organized October 30th, 1800; church built 
in 1823-4; in 1829 was changed to the Congre- 
gational society of Elbridge. 

In Van Buren, at Canton, Baptist society 



120 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

formed in 1830, and church built in '33. At 
Baldwinsville, Baptist society existed from 1818, 
reorganized in IS-tO. Presbyterians, Christians, 
Congregationahsis, Methodists and Roman Cath- 
oUcs followed. 

In Salina, the First Methodist society of Liver- 
pool was formed in 1820, and church built in 
1826. Presbyterians organized in 1827 ; churches 
built in 1811 and '63, Episcopal society formed 
in 1840, and church built in 1811; St. Paul's 
German Lutheran society took its property. 
Roman Catholics built a church in 1890. 

The Presbyterian society at Salina, first known 
as the " United Church of Onondaga Hollow 
and Salina," was organized March 20th, 1800, 
by the Presbytery of Geneva and the Rev. Dirck 
Lansing, with a membership of nine. In Jan- 
uary, 1822, the church was dedicated. The First 
Baptist society w^as formed in 1819, and its 
church in West Genesee street erected in 1821 
and enlarged in 1839, The First Presbyterian 
church was organized December, 1821, with the 
Rev. Dr. J. W. Adams as its pastor till his death 
in 1852, and its original church, at the corner of 
South Salina and Fayette streets, was built in 
1826, The St. John's Roman Catholic church of 
Salina, the first Roman Catholic church in Onon- 
daga county, was organized in 1829 by Thomas 
McCarthy and James Lynch, and the St. Mary's 



HISTORY OF CITY CHURCHES 121 

German Romau Catholic church was organized 
in lS-l-l-'-15. The Eev. Father Haes was the 
pastor of St. Mary's at Syracuse for many years. 
St. Paul's Episcopal church, on the site of the 
Granger block, was built in 1827, the year after 
the society was organized. The Park Presby- 
terian church was built in 1848, the year after 
the society was formed. New churches have 
taken the place of the original First Presbyter- 
ian, the Park Presbyterian and St. PauPs 
churches. The Church of the Messiah, the First 
Unitarian Congregational society, was organized 
September 3d, 1838, and for many years was un- 
der the pastorate of the Rev. Samuel J. May ; the 
first chapel was in East Genesee street, and the 
first church at the corner of Lock and Burnet 
streets, and finally the present church in James 
street. St. Mary's Roman Catholic society bought 
from St. Paul's Episcopal society in 18-t3 the old 
church on the Granger block triangle, and later 
was succeeded by the present structure at the 
corner of Jefferson and Montgomery streets. 
The First Methodist Episcopal society was organ- 
ized in 1836, and occupied a church on the site of 
the state salt office in North Salina street, and 
later built the present church at. the corner of 
East Onondaga and South State streets, which is 
about to give place to a new structure. The 
Reformed church society built its church in 



122 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

James street in 1848. St. James Episcopal 
society built its first church in 1848. This is the 
record up to the organization of the city of Syra- 
cuse, since which time many new religious socie- 
ties have been created and churches built, until 
the number now is 120, including missions. 

The above statement is not intended as a com- 
plete church record for the county of Onondaga; 
only as a brief chronicle of the earlier churches. 
It will be noticed that most of the earher religious 
societies were Presbyterian or Congregational, 
some of the latter becoming Presbyterian. This 
was the result of the jN'ew England settlement 
of this county, the pioneers bringing with them 
their form of religious worship, as they did also 
their educational system. Many of these earlier 
churches united the Christians of all denomina- 
tions in the communities, and such organiza- 
tions continued till the population became suffi- 
ciently numerous to maintain churches of varied 
names and forms. The record shows how speed- 
ily and thoroughly organized Christian societies 
were created, and church edifices erected. 



NINTH F=AF=EF=^ 

Promotion of Educational Interests 

The inherent love of civil and religious liberty 
^was the prompting of the pioneers in the Onon- 
daga country in whatever they did in the forma- 
tive stage of conditions in the early settlements 
here. They were God-fearing, patriotic, order- 
loving, and ambitious for prosperity and suc- 
cess. They established their homes, cleared the 
land, reared their dwellings and laid the founda- 
tions of schools and churches. Upon this basis 
arose the communities which in one hundred 
years made this region equal in all respects, save 
antiquities and ruins, with the oldest and most 
favored parts of the civilized world. This is an 
educational paper, and will show by what means 
the educational interests of the new communities 
were cared for and promoted. 

The First Academy 

The Pompey academy had its origin in a 
movement of leading citizens of Onondaga 
■county in 1800, who joined in a petition to the 
Eegents of the University of the State for its 
incorporation. Tliere was no academy in the 
county, and the granting of the provisional char- 

(123) 




OLD POMPEY ACADEMY, ERECTED IN 1810. (First Academy in Onondaga Countt)- 



POMPEY ACADEMY 125 

ter was accompanied by a resolution declaring 
an uncertainty as to Pompey being a proper loca- 
tion for such an institution, and expressing doubt 
of the expediency of there being more than one 
academy in the county; and the Board of Super- 
visors of the county was asked to advise as to 
whether any objection existed to the proposed 
institution. The Supervisors voted approval, 
but the Eegents were tardy in their action. But 
on a second application in 1802, the Eegents 
Yoted a provisional charter. The necessary 
subscriptions for the academy had been raised, 
and the erection of the building was begun in 
1803 and completed iu 1810, with an endowment 
of 11,450 from the unexpended fund. There 
were in the original board of trustees twenty- 
six of the most prominent citizens of Pompey, 
Onondaga and Camillus. Henry Seymour, Vic- 
tor Birdseye, Daniel Wood, Luther Marsh, Dirck 
C. Lansing, James Geddes and Jasper Hopper 
were prime movei's in the enterprise. Eev. 
Joshua Leonard was the first principal and under 
him began a phenomenal career of one of the 
most famous academies in the state. The list 
cf subsequent instructors is a long and honor- 
able one, and the graduates include very many 
prominent men in the affairs of the state and 
nation. In 1831 the old building was vacated, 
and a new academy and preceptor's house were 



126 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

built at a cost of about 1:1-, 500. The later struc- 
ture was typical of the best school buildings of 
the time; it was a large wooden building, painted 
yellow, nearly square, being SOx-tO feet on the 
ground, two stories, with a hall running through 
the middle of the first floor, study rooms, 15x10 
feet, on each side of the hall; a long room, 
15x40 feet, at the rear, in which the common 
school of the village was held for many years, 
and on the opposite side was a similar long room 
in which the academy was conducted. Later 
both long rooms were used for the academy. A 
picture of these familiar school quarters is plain 
in the minds of many surviving pupils of the 
beloved old school, from whose portals have 
emerged into the activities of the world many 
students who have made their enduring impress 
upon those activities. The second story of the 
edifice was occupied by the chapel, forty feet 
square. "' The stage " was at the front, oppo- 
site the stairway, and from this platform were 
made the first appearances of those whose elo- 
quence filled executive, legislative and legal halls, 
and illumined the pulpit and bench in after 
years. An interor view of this famous old hall 
is preserv^ed and has an enduring interest for 
those who once were familiar with its scenes and 
personalities. The academy was for some years, 
used on Sundays for religious meetings. 



INTERESTING RECORDS 127 

» 

There were in Central New York at the time 
the Pompey school came into existence acade- 
mies at Canandaigua, Cayuga and Lowville, and 
none further West. 

There recently were presented to the Onondaga 
Historical association by Henry H. Baker, secre- 
tary of Pompey academy, now a union free school, 
the following oi'iginal papers, for preservation: 

The certificate of incorporation by the Kegents 
of the University, executed by Daniel D. Tomp- 
kins, Governor and Chancellor of the University, 
dated March 19th, 1811. 

Letters patent issued by Governor Daniel D. 
Tompkins, conveying to the trustees of the 
Pompey academy, lot 15, township of Camillus, 
638 aicres, as an endowment for the support of 
the academy, dated May 11th, 1813. About $4,- 
000 were realized from these lands, which are 
located on the Seneca river about two miles be- 
low Baldwinsville. Victory Birdseye procured 
the legislation for this state grant. 

Accompanying this article are pictures of the 
old and the present Pompey academy. The site 
is one of the most commanding in all the Onon- 
daga country, overlooking more of the landscape 
than any other place in the central part of this 
state. A detailed history of the institution ap- 
pears in the " Keunion of Pompey," pubhshed 
by W. W. Van Brocklyn in 1875. 




POMPEY ACADEMV. ERECTED IN 1834, AS IT NOW IS 



ONONDAGA VALLEY ACADEMY 129 

Onondaga Valley Academy 

The Onondaga academy had its inception in a 
meeting held at the Valley on August 15th, 
1812. The promoters were prominent citizens 
of the town of Onondaga, some of whom had 
been active in the Pompey academy. The more 
active men were Joshua and Joseph Form an, 
Dirck C. Lansing, Thaddeus M. Wood, Jasper 
Hopper, Cornelius Longstreet, John Adams, 
Nicholas Mickles, William H. Sabine, Joseph 
Swan, Judson Webb and George Hall. The 
Regents issued its charter April 10th, 1813, The 
Rev. Caleb Alexander was made president and 
was its first principal. Mr. Alexander was a 
great educator and a learned divine. He organ 
ized Fairfield academy and was tendered the 
presidency of Hamilton college on its organiza- 
tion. He and Doctor Lansing designed founding 
a theological seminary at the Valley, but the 
project took on and maintained the character of 
an academy. 

The state school system was inaugurated in 
1795, and in that year a log school-house was 
built in Onondaga Hollow, and the first teacher 
was Dr. Gordan Needham. For twelve years 
this school-house was the place of religious, 
social and public meetings. In the structure 
was the forerunner of the Onondaga academy, 
an institution that has greatly promoted educa- 



130 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

tion in a broad field. The state in 1812 put its 
public school system on a definite footing, and 
that year saw the beginning of the academy 
scheme. The academy was located in the rear 
of the Presbyterian church, the site of which was 
given by the givers of the church site, Joshua 
Forman and William H. Sabine. The acad- 
emy building was at once erected, the structure 
being of stone, 74x31: feet, three stories and a 
basement. It was not completed till the spring 
of 1815, and not occupied till the next season. 
The cost was $6,250. In the basement were a 
dining hall, kitchen, pantry, cellar and labora- 
tory. In the second (ground) floor, were the 
chapel, two large rooms for the school and two 
bedrooms. The third and fourth floors contained 
each nine rooms for the students. In 1815 a 
department for girls was added and occupied the 
Joshua Forman residence. This building was 
sold in 1850, and in 1853 an addition was made 
to the academy building at a cost of 15,550, and 
in 1890 still further additions were made. 

Twenty-four principals have conducted the 
academy, and in this list are the names of Dr. 
Caleb Alexander, the Rev. Edward Fairchild, 
Samuel S. Stebbins and Ely Burchard (these two 
were before the principals of the Pompey acad- 
emy), William P. Goodelle, 0. W. Sturdevant, 
Samuel B. Woolworth and David H. Cook. The 




ONONDAGA VALLEY ACADEMY, Erected in 1815, Remodeled in 1853 and 1890. 



132 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

students and graduates, numbering many hun- 
dreds, have gone out into the world well prepared 
to meet its responsibilities and many of them 
have made names of note. 

Another old log school-house in the town of 
Onondaga was located near the Court House site 
at Onondaga Hill, and its first teacher was Oliver 
E. Strong, in 1803. 

Eichard R. Slocum has written a history of 
the Onondaga academy, which contains very full 
information. The institution is now the ' ' Onon- 
daga Academy and Union Free school, District 
No. 1, town of Onondaga." 

With the beginning of the new century there 
will commence a series of school and academy 
centennials in the county of Onondaga. 

Syracuse Academy 

The Syracuse academy was chartered by the 
Regents in 1835. The enterprise was promoted 
by Aaron Burt, Harvey Baldwin and Oliver 
Teall, who were large real estate holders in the 
eastern part of what is now the city of Syracuse 
and then was the village of Lodi. The site is 
that now occupied l)y the Onondaga County Or- 
phan asylum. It is an eminence overlooking 
the city of Syracuse, and the academy was a 
handsome school building for its time. The 
record of the academy's history for five years 
after its incorporation is not at hand ; but they 



THE ACADEMY AT SYRACUSE 133 

were not years of marked prosperity. It was 
not till ISiO, when Prof. Oren Eoot, later the 
widely known professor of mathematics in Ham- 
ilton college, became its principal, that it took 
high rank among institutions of its kind. Mr. 
Eoot was not only a distinguished mathemati- 
cian, but a great naturalist and investigator. 
He led his pupils in the pleasantest and most 
profitable ways. He continued for at least four 
years at the head of the academy, and was as- 
sisted by Oliver T, Burt as classical teacher, 
Joseph A. Allen as teacher of English branches, 
and Miss Mary Kidder and Lucy T. Burt as 
teachers in the female department. Other fa- 
miliar names of teachers are those of Mr. Kel- 
logg, H. A. Williams, Miss Elizabeth C. Adams, 
Miss Charlotte G. Buttrick and Charles E. 
Adams, Joseph A. Allen and A. G. Salisbury 
were its principals after Mr. Eoot went to Ham- 
ilton college. The trustees were Harvey Bald- 
win, Aaron Burt, John W. Adams, Oliver Teall, 
Thomas Eose, S. W. Cadwell and M. Williams. 
The years of best success were from 1840 to 
1845 ; and the next year the property passed into 
the hands of the Onondaga County Orphan 
asylum. 

Andrew D. White, in reminiscenses of early 
Syracuse, says of public buildings in 1840, that 
the old Syracuse academy was the most impos- 



13t 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



ing of all, on the knoll east of the village. 
" This institution," he says, " called into its ser- 
vice men of real value, both as scholars and 




THE ACADEMY AT SYRACUSE 

teachers." OrenEoot and Joseph A. Allen, Mr. 
White says, " were exceedingly successful in 
their work ; Mr. Root was an ardent devotee of 
the natural sciences, and infused into his stu- 
dents something of his own spirit; Mr. Allen 
was the best teacher of English branches that 
I ever knew — without wearying them, he allured 
his pupils on so that study was a pleasure rather 
than a burden." Mr. White calls'up the names 



OTHER NOTED ACADEMIES 135 

of a score of students in the old academy who 
have risen to high places in the world. 

Other Academies 

Other academic institutions in the county of 
Onondaga have noteworthy histories; among 
them the Manlius academy, incorporated in 
1835; Monroe Collegiate institute at Elbridge, 
founded in 1835, and incorporated in 1839, under 
the inspiration of Nathan Munro; the Jordan 
academy, which in 1875 passed into the graded 
school system ; the Skaneateles academy, which 
did not reach incorporation; the Baldwinsville 
Free academy, organized in 1861:; the St. John's 
School for Boys at Manlius (Episcopal) founded 
in 1869 by Bishop Huntington, and the Syracuse 
High School, organized in 1855, which are edu- 
cational institutions that have accomplished 
incalculable good for many persons in many 
communities, and have left an indelible impress 
upon the professional and business pursuits of 
the times. 

In the pioneer times every new settlement had 
its school- house, almost always in the first in- 
stance of logs, which in time gave place to the 
regulation school building, and further on, in 
these later days, there are in city, town and vil- 
lage no more commodious, suitable and creditable 
buildings than the modern school-houses. The 
history of the former public schools of Syracuse 



136 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and of the schools under the present system has 
been well written up by an old teacher, Edward 
Smith, and some account of the schools in the 
county at large is given in the county and town 
histories ; but with the incoming of a new cen- 
tury there should be prepared and published a 
reasonably full historical account of the educa- 
tional institutions of Onondaga county as a cen- 
tral school history and educational review. 



Oneida Lake's Importance 

Oneida lake has an especial interest in con- 
nection with the first settlement of the Onon- 
daga country, from the circumstance that it was 
the thoroughfare of the early emigration and 
the route of the early military expeditions into 
this region. For many years all the provisions 
for the colonies were transported up the Mohawk 
river, through Oneida lake, thence by the river 
to Onondaga lake and to the Onondaga villages. 
This was the water route till the building of the 
Erie canal. The Inland Navagation company 
utilized it, and among the strongly urged routes 
for water connection between the Hudson river 
and the great lakes was this one, and singularly, 
one hundred years later, the surveyors for the 
general government, in running lines for the 
proposed ship canal, indicate it as the most feas- 
ible of all propositions. 

General Danforth and his companions, Colonel 
Tyler and Danforth, jr., made their way to the 
first settlement at Onondaga Valley in 1788, by 
way of Oneida lake and river, and through 

(137) 



138 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Onondaga lake. The Oneida river on all the 
earlier maps is called the Onondaga river. 

This region always has been noted for its ex- 
cellent fishing. It is told b}^ Le Moyne that on 

his first visit in 1654 
there was a famous In- 
dian fi s h i n g village 
where the lake empties 
into the river. The 
ashes of many sites of 
Indian villages are 
found at various points 
at the foot of the lake, 
and along the river 
banks at the lake's out- 
let, presumably sites of 
fishing villages, and no 
spot in the country has 
been more prolific of 
Indian relics than this 
locality. Some of the 
finest collections of these relics have been here 
made. 

The settlement of Brewerton was effected in 
1790. Interesting family history was made 
there, but few events of general interest are 
recorded. The town of Cicero was erected in 
1807. Before that its territory was in Lysander. 
The river at Brewerton was ferried till 1824, 




ROYAL BLOCKHOUSE AT EAST 
END OE' ONEIDA LAKE 



THE FIRST "new WOMAN" 139 

when a bridge was constructed and a new one 
built in 184:7. The Salt road from Salina to 
Brewerton was opened in 1812, and upon this 
was constructed the first plank road in the 
United States, in 1840. Its route was outhned 
by military and settlers many years before. The 
opening of the Erie canal and later of the 
Oswego canal had much to do with the pros- 
perity of the people of the town of Cicero 
and all the Oneida lake region. The Oneida 
lake canal greatly promoted local business, 
by affording a ready outlet for the lumber, 
wood, iron and glass products of that locality. 
The Oneida lake region for many years supplied 
the salt industry on the Onondaga reservation 
with its soft wood fuel, which preceded the use 
of coal. 

When Cicero was, in its early days, called 
Cody's Corners, Mrs. Isaac Cody was know as 
the first "new woman" in Onondaga county. 
She was a business woman, a store-keeper and 
a reformer. Another celebrated woman from 
this town was Mrs. Matilda Joslyn Gage, the 
daughter of Dr. Hiram Joslyn, who married 
the daughter of Sir George Leslie, a Scotch 
.gentleman. Mrs. Gage became a leader of the 
•anti-slavery and woman suffrage movements. 
Mrs. Doctor Joslyn possessed the first piano in 
the county. 



140 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The great Cicero swamp was a drawback to 
this part of the county, but under act of the 
Legislature it was drained and much of its bad 
lands reclaimed. 

In Oneida lake are located two considerable 
islands, Frenchman's and Dunham's, which 
have quite an interesting history. The former 
is a beautiful island, a.nd is more or less a popu- 
lar resort. 

Frenchman's Island 

Clark, in his history, tells the story of French- 
man's island in an attractive manner. He re- 
lates that about 1800 the island became the abode 
of a French gentleman, named Devitzy, and his 
wife, a noble-born woman, who, having eloped 
and married, made their escape to this country. 
Seeking seclusion, they followed the travelled 
route into this region, and reaching this island 
resolved to make it their home. A log-house 
was built, and the couple lived there, the ac- 
count runs, in peace and contentment for seven 
years. Their cabin was graced with books and 
musical instruments, and a beautiful garden was 
cultivated by the man of the house. Three 
children were born to these refugees during 
their residence on the island. The irate father 
at last became reconciled to his daughter, who, 
with her husband, was welcomed back to the 
ancestral estates in France. The cabin and some 



ONEIDA LAKE ISLANDS 141 

of the trees planted by the FreDchman were to 
be seen as late as 1850, 

Dunham's Island, a near neighbor to French- 
man's Island, took its name from Capt, Valen- 
tine Dunham, a native of Hamilton, Madison 
county, who located upon it and tried to improve 
it, but it lacked the size and beauty and fertility 
of the other island, and he soon gave up his en- 
terprise and removed to South Bay, where he 
carried on business for many years. 

Indian tradition has it that when Hiawatha 
passed through Oneida lake, on his way to the 
Onondagas, after committing the Five Nations 
to his scheme of federation, as he paddled his 
magic canoe past the two islands, he said: " So- 
a-ka, see how the waters divide at these islands 
and then come together again." 

Elkanah Watson in i791 traversed the Oneida 
lake region, prospecting for a canal route. Con- 
nection of the Hudson river by the Mohawk, 
Oneida lake and river, and Lake Ontario was the 
first favored route. 

Interesting accounts of Oneida lake, its islands 
and settlements were written by Vandercamp 
in 1791 and by Rochefoncault in 1795, 

Major William W. Teall put forth the great- 
est efforts to utilize the natural advantages of 
these islands, but the attempt was not remuner- 
ative. Others have endeavored to make them 



142 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

popular resorts, building hotels, running steam- 
boats and improving the islands, without marked 
success. But the islands are not surpassed in 
natural beauty by any spot in the central coun- 
ties. 

Colonel Van Schaick's important expedition in 
revenge for Indian atrocities, which had for its 
object the destruction of the villages of the Onon- 
dagas, encamped on Frenchman's island in 1779. 
Proceeding to Brewerton the force marched 
thence directly across the country to Green 
Point, and thence to and up Onondaga creek; 
the Indians taking alarm and fleeing, and Van 
Schaick's men fighting a little battle with the 
Indians near the site of the present city water 
reservoir, in which one American was killed, and 
twelve Indians killed and thirty-four taken pris- 
oners. The Indians fled to the forests ; and after 
burning the villages, the invaders retired the 
way they came. The troops were American, 
who were sent to punish the Indian allies of the 
British. The Onondagas, under Oundiago, took 
revenge by an expedition against Cobbleskill, a 
German settlement in the Mohawk valley, killing 
the troops there and burning the place. 
Castorlaiul 

About the time Onondaga was organized and 
when it embraced the whole of the Military Tract, 
there was a novel colonization enterprise entered 



STORY OF CASTORLAND 143 

upon, which enhsted some co-operation of origi- 
nal settlers here. It was the scheme known as 
" La Compagnie de New York, " more frequently 
mentioned as " Chassanis of Paris, the origina- 
tor, and sometimes as the " Castorland Com- 
pany," from the name the promoters gave to 
their tract of land. This purchase, made in 
Paris in 1792. was supposed to embrace 630,000 
acres of land lying east and north of the Black 
river in the present counties of Lewis and Jeffer- 
son. When surveyed it was found to include 
only about one-third that amount of land. 

Frankhn B. Hough, the historian of Northern 
New York, has told the story of Castorland. It 
is very romantic, filled with adventure, and 
contains glimpses of pioneer life in this region 
of country, which illustrate the labors, hard- 
ships, privations and disappointments that came 
to the early settlers. Strong men were engaged 
in the Castorland enterprise, and they put forth 
herculean efforts to exploit their great scheme, 
which in brief was to attract a large emigration 
to Northern New York, to provide at a low cost 
farms and homes for colonists, and to found two 
large cities to be located in the tract, and to pro- 
vide all the inducements necessary for a new 
state. The cities marked out on paper were 
called Basle and Castorland, and they were to 
be the centers for innumerable farms lying all 



144 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

around them, each 100 acres in extent. The 
Macomb and Scriba patents were the nucleus of 
the enterprise. The settlers were to be drawn 
from France and England, w^ho were to seek 
their fortunes in the new world. Agents were 
sent to Europe to promote this enterprise, but 
it had no great success. Some bright men were 
enlisted in it, among them Pierre Pharoux, an 
architect and scientist, and Simon Desjardins, 
formerly a chamberlain under Louis XVI, who 
were appointed commissioners, and Mark J. 
Brunei, afterwards celebrated as a great inven- 
tor and engineer, and who was the builder of 
the Thames tunnel. These three men made a 
notable trip into the lands of the new enter- 
prise, and Brunei's journal is very interesting 
from its account of the pioneer settlements in 
the Mohawk valley and the inroads being made 
by pioneers in the Oneida and Onondaga country. 
These settlements in 1791-3 faded out before 
the travellers reached old Salt Point. 

Into the Promised Land 

There was a thorough organization back of 
the Castorland project, and with bright prospects 
of success, the advance party went into the 
promised land in the autumn of 1793. The trip 
was through the Mohawk river and the Oneida 
lake, and down to Oswego, and thence on Lake 
Ontario, to the mouth of the Black river and 



A DISAPPOINTING ENTERPRISE 145 

into the wilderness. After this prehminary 
journey the access was made from Fort Schuyler 
(Utica) to Barou Steuben's place in Northern 
Oneida county, which was the frontier of civili- 
zation, and thence into the wonderful Castor- 
land. Operations continued for a year or so, 
with all sorts of adventure and romance, and 
then there was a review of forces on June 15, 
1794, and only twenty-two colonists appearing, 
though for a year longer the colonies were main- 
tained, the enterprise gradually faded into fail- 
ure and disappointment. Incidentally in the 
journal of this project, by Brunei, a very lively 
narrative, which accidentally was discovered 
thirty years ago, there is mention of the settle- 
ment of Major Mappa at Trenton Falls, and of 
Boon, Cazenove, Lincklaen, DeEosset, Vander- 
kempt, Peter Smith and other land operators, 
and of the Frenchman's settlement on the island 
in Oneida lake. 

The narrative of the settler of Frenchman's 
island differs considerably from that in Clark's 
history. The Frenchman's name is given as M. 
Desvatins, " who, like another Kobinson Crusoe, 
had two years before come to settle on a lone 
island in the middle of the lake, with his wife 
and children and his little library." He had 
been advised, after a series of unprofitable ad- 
ventures in the new country, by Chevelier de 



14:6 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Geyan, to repair to this island in the lake, which 
was beautifulh' located but uninhabited, and 
there to form an establishment by himself. He 
took this advice, came to the island, formed a 
clearing with his own hands, built him a hut, 
and located. He had lost all his belongings ex- 
cepting his library, to which he clung. He and 
his wife spent the first winter with the Indians, 
and the second year the settler built a log-house 
and cleared about six acres, which promised 
him support. Then the state, without consult- 
ing the squatter, sold the island, and Desvatins 
was summarily dispossessed. After being driven 
from the island, Desvatins accepted an offer of 
a lot by Mr, Scriba in New Rotterdam (Constan- 
tia), and there was met by the Castorland party, 
above described, who gave this account of him 
and his fortune. " It seems that seven years 
before Desvatins, who had married against 
family wishes, came from France to this coun- 
try, with $40,000 in money, which he gradually 
wasted in buying farms at extravagant prices, 
thus losing part of his fortune, and then going 
into trade with some sharpers, who ran away 
with his money — thus bringing him to poverty. 
He went to the Oneida lake island in 1791, selling 
his superfluous furniture, excepting his library, 
and making a recluse home for himself and 
family, till driven out from it in 1793. The 



NEW ENGLANDERS SUCCEED 147 

refugees were found at New Kotterdam, where 
the unfortunate man was late in the autumn 
endeavoring to construct a hut for the winter's 
occupancy; and the records say, Desvatins, his 
wife and children were in splendid health and 
" as jovial as cupids." They promised to seek 
Castorland in the spring, but no further record 
is found of them. 

New England Settlers Thrive 

While the Castorland colony, east of Black 
river, was a dismal failure, says Doctor Hough, 
it " was not from any inherent difficulties in the 
enterprise, because, at about the same time, 
settlers from New England began to pour into 
the Black river valley, and only just over the 
river the smoke from their clearings arose here 
and there all along the valley. The log cabins 
arose like magic all along the trails that pre- 
sently became well-travelled roads, and mills, 
churches and school-houses came into being 
wherever they were needed. Most of these lands 
are now owned by descendants of those pioneers 
from New England, and scarcely one made a fail- 
ure, while the French colony passed away like a. 
morning fog. ' ' The contemplated city of Basle, 
on the lake shore at the mouth of Black river, is 
still farming land just above the village of Dexter, 
Jefferson county, and the city of Castorland is 
now the hamlet of Beaver Falls, Lewis county. 



148 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Dr. Hough describes pioneer times as the 
period when settlers from New England began 
to spread over the new country, and the light 
of civilization, here and there, began slowly to 
dispel the barbarism that from time immemorial 
had covered the land. 

" In the first struggle for subsistence, remote 
from supplies of most urgent need, without 
markets for the sale of the scanty surplus pro- 
ducts of their industry, their families exposed 
to the malarious emanations of swamps, and 
their flocks to the depredations of wild beasts, 
the pioneer of those first days of settlement 
needed strong faith in a better future, and all 
the energy which this faith imparts, to support 
the ordeal of the beginning, and carry him 
successfully through the hardships of the first 
years of frontier life. 

" In the absence of other means of travel, 
the navigable waters of the lakes and streams 
were the first highways, and along these the 
pioneers built their rude log cabins and cleared 
their first land. These thoroughfares had been 
used by the native races and by traders for a 
long period, before the first thought of perma- 
nent settlement was entertained, and there can 
be little doubt that the country which these wat- 
ers drain would have lain a wilderness much 
longer had not the goodness of the soil and its 



AN INTERESTING RELIC 149 

fitness for cultivation been noticed by the pro- 
vincial and continental soldiers v^ho had occa- 
sion to traverse these regions in military expedi- 
tions, several years before the obstacles had been 
removed and the opportunities for enterprise were 
presented. ' ' The government titles to the lands 
on the Mihtary Tract facilitated the settlement 
of the Onondaga country, which filled up faster 
than most regions in the interior of this state. 

Fort Brewerton 

This old fortification is accounted the most 
interesting historic rehc in Central New York. 
It is located on the easterly side of Oneida river, 
where mat stream emerges from Oneida lake, 
just across the river from the village of Brewer- 
ton. It was erected by the British in 1758, as a 
defense, at the foot of Oneida lake, against the 
invasion of the Mohawk valley by the French, 
and the Royal blockhouse erected at the head of 
the lake was an additional protection of the 
waterway from Lake Ontario to the Mohawk 
region. The fort was named after Captain 
Brewerton, who was a British officer who held 
commands at various places on the frontier. It 
was garrisoned at times, and at others was a 
station for troops in transit. 

The old fort was rebuilt in the war of the Eev- 
olution, and was garrisoned. In 1795 the block- 
house near the fort on the river's bank was con- 



150 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

structed, and the fort was the refuge of the peo- 
ple of the vicinity on alarms of attack or inva- 
sion. 

The French commander, Champlain, and his 
forces w^ere at Brewerton in October, 1B15, on 
the way to fight the Indians at Onondaga, and 
being defeated, retreated that way a few days 
later. The Jesuit priest, Le Moyne, was there 
in 1654, and left a record of his visit and of the 
superior fishing there. Chaumonot and Dab- 
Ion, the priests, were there on their way to 
Genentoa the next year. La Salle, the great 
Spanish discoverer, visited there in 1773; and 
also the Indians at Onondaga, being attracted by 
the reports of silver deposits (salt) on the shores 
of Genentoa lake; Carangula in 1684, on a war 
expedition to Canada; Romer and others in 1700, 
to select the site for a fort; Sir William Johns- 
ton was frequently there; Kirtland, the mission- 
ary, was there in 1786; St. Leger, with 2,000 
British troops, on the way to the siege of Fort 
Stanwix, was there in 1777; Brandt, with his 
Indians followed St. Leger closely; in 1759, 
Prideaux, with 2,000 men, was at Brewerton 
on his way to destroy French power in Canada. 
Fort Brewerton never was besieged, nor was any 
battle ever fought there. Nevertheless it was 
an important outpost, and deemed a valuable 
defense in the line of fortifications extending 



ORIGINAL FORT BREWERTON 



151 



from Oswego iato the Mohawk valley. Old set- 
tlers relate that when the old fort was disman- 
tled at the close of the Revolution, the cannon 




OLD FORT BREWERTON AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 

were withdrawn away into the swamp to the 
south and there buried ; but diligent search has 
failed to discover the buried ordnance. 

Original Outlines Preserved 

The original fort was in the form of an S-sided 
star, and there were high earthw^orks, a well in 
the middle, and a passageway to the river. The 
fort, an octagon, was 350 feet in diameter, with 
a wall of earth five feet high above the interior 
area of w^orks, a ditch ten feet deep outside of 
this, and another embankment still outside; 
within the interior embankment were palisades 
twenty feet high, pierced with rifle holes and 



152 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

embrasures. On the river side, outside the fort, 
were other pahsades. The fortification stood 
on an eminence and was of a character to com- 
mand the passage of the river. Until about 
1850 the old fort was in excellent preservation; 
then it was plowed over, but since has been 
carefully preserved in its original outlines. The 
blockhouse long ago disappeared, and nothing 
remains of the sentry's mole excepting the rock 
foundation. In a sandhill, near by, many hu- 
man remains have been unearthed. 

Baldwin's island, in the river, directly above 
Brewerton village, has possessed a great interest 
from the large number of relics found there. 

In this respect the shores of the river for sev- 
eral miles from the lake have been wonderfully 
productive of Indian curiosities. Eecently this 
island has been graded and improved, and re- 
christened Iroquois island. 

In 1790 the Bingham and Stevens families 
kept hotels at Brewerton. 



ELEVENTH F=AF=EF=^ 

The Jesuits and the Salt Springs 

The Jesuit Eelations contain little respecting 
the salt spi'ings at Onondaga. No mention of 
the springs is made in the Relations of 1645-6. 
The springs first discovered by the Jesuit visitors 
were south of Onondaga lake and the marsh 
east and south of it, and none are spoken of as 
being near the mission house located at Genen- 
toa or Green Point. According to Doctor Beau- 
champ the Onondagas and others used no salt 
until long after these discoveries, and some of 
the French missionaries discouraged its use. 

The first reference to these springs in the Re- 
lations was by Father Le Moyne, who wrote 
August 16th, 1654: " We arrived at the entrance 
to a small lake (Genentoa, or Onondaga) in a 
great basin, half-dried; we tasted the water of 
a spring which they (the Indians) dared not 
drink, saying that there was a demon within 
which renders it fetid ; having tasted it I found 
that it was a fountain of salt water; and, in 
fact, we made salt from it as natural as that 
from the sea, of which we carried a sample to 
Quebec." 

(153) 



154 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Father Dablon wrote November 11th, 1655: 
" The fountain of which one makes very good 
salt intersects a beautiful prairie," (between 
Salina and Green Point), " surrounded by a 
wood of high forests trees. At SO to 100 paces 
from this salt spring is seen another fresh water, 
and these two oj)posites take birth from the 
bosom of the same hill." (This, Beauchamp 
declares, was at Salina, not at Genentoa, or 
Green Point, and the prairie was the marsh.) 

Father Le Jeune wrote in 1657: " We found 
on the south side of the lake several springs or 
fountains of salt water, although this lake is 
very far from the sea, as. well as at Lorraine, 
where similar ones are found ; but I do not think 
salt could be made there as easily as we shall be 
able to make it here, because we find salt ready- 
made upon the ground about these springs, and 
making the water boil it is easily converted 
into salt." The salt springs at what later was 
Salina were the only ones then known. 

" The second is that in springtime there 
gather around these salines so great a quantity 
of pigeons that they sometimes take as many as 
TOO in a morning." 

Of rattlesnakes, in 1667, it is written: " I 
know not if these snakes are attracted by the 
salt, but I know well that the place where we 
have set up our dwelling, surrounded by beauti- 



SALT SPRINGS RESERVATION 155 

ful springs of fresh water, is not infested by 
them, although it is on the shores of the small 
lake." 

The Salt Springs and Reservation 

Sir William Johnson, in ITol, obtained title 
to 13,000 acres of land about Onondaga lake (by 
deed from the Onondagas, for one mile in width 
adjoining and including the entire lake), with 
political purposes, for the colony of New York, 
and not for the salt. The council would not 
reimburse him for the outlay, but confirmed 
his title. He disposed of this land by will. 
Johnson and his family adhered to the British 
cause, and their landed property was confiscated. 
The land later came into the Salt Springs reser- 
vation. 

The state of New York derived its title to the 
Salt reservation from the Indians by the treaty 
of Fort Schuyler in 1788 (the Johnson title hav- 
ing been canceled by confiscation), by which all 
the Indian lands, except " certain tracts re- 
served," were ceded, including the salt springs, 
the lake and country adjacent. Out of this 
transaction came the annuities to the Indians 
which the state continues to pay. By this treaty 
the whites were assured of their right to occupy 
the lands and to produce salt. The state took 
the salt interest in hand, and in 1791-2-3, laws 



156 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of regulation were passed, and subsequent legis- 
lation, which, with the public demand and the 
energy of the manufacturers, brought the salt 
business into sixty years of prosperity. 

Sir William Johnson's purpose in acquiring 
the salt springs and vicinity was to check the 
French plan of establishing a military post at 
Onondaga lake, which would secure to them a 
foothold in the very heart of the Six Nations 
and augment their influence with the Indians. 
Johnson was able and wily, and calling a council 
of the Indians at Onondaga, he impressed upon 
them the importance of keeping out of the 
clutches of the French and convincing them, 
they deeded to him for £350 the lake and adja- 
cent lands. This strategic move disheartened 
the French, who gave up their plan of acquir- 
ing this central point of control. 

The Onondaga salines were known to exist 
before the war of the Revolution, and though 
no specific explorations were made to reveal 
their extent or value, many covetous eyes were 
directed towards them as furnishing profitable 
enterprise for business and wealth. At the 
close of the war emigration poured into the 
Onondaga country, which rapidly was settled by 
a superior class of people, and from that time 
onward Onondaga has kept its place thus gained 
in population, enterprise and wealth. 



STATE ASSUMES SUPERVISION 157 

Salt Springs Data 

The salt manufacture was under some restric- 
tion from the treaty of 1788; and by an addi- 
tional treaty in 1795 these comphcations were 
removed, the state became absolute owner of a 
district about ten miles square, which was organ- 
ized into the Onondaga Salt Springs reservation. 
The state assumed supervision of the salt manu- 
facture in 1797, and Judge Stephens was the 
first superintendent. Dr. William Kirkpatrick 
succeeded him, and greatly promoted the inter- 
est. A tract of about twenty miles square of 
land was set apart, from which timber and fuel 
might be obtained and on which structures for 
the manufacture of salt might be erected. Un- 
der the law the use and distribution of brine 
were regulated. A tax of i cents a bushel was 
imposed upon all the salt made. At first the 
manufacturers dug wells and pumped salt 
water; but the state soon found the necessity of 
taking possession of the wells and pumps and 
of distributing the brine. The right to brine 
was enjoyed first by the property earliest in- 
vested in the manufacture and then by works in 
the order of their erection. 

Dr. Mullaney says of the Jesuit Father Le 
Moyne, the Catholic missionary at Onondaga, that 
" he was the first to make known the useful- 
ness of the salt springs to the Indian and the 



158 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

white man, and with the usual success of first 
disco v^erers. His statement was called ' a Jesuit 
lie,' and was laughed at by the Dutch of New 
Amsterdam, but curious to relate, the chronicler 
spelled the word ' lye,' an unconscious vindica- 
tion of the Jesuit's truthfulness. The industry 
was as nothing then ; it was merely a curiosity. 
Traders carried salt to Albany and Quebec, only 
to exhibit it in exchanging their furs. The salt 
blocks, the ruins of which now surround us, 
were then a few small household kettles; yet 
this was the beginning of an industry which 
afterwards grew into vast proportions." 

The Jesuit Wells 

Missionaries of the Society of Jesus first vis- 
ited the Onondaga region, coming from Quebec, 
in 1654. The first year's Relations give the de- 
tailed account of the journey through the beau- 
tiful Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence 
river, across Lake Ontario, up the Oswego river 
to Onondaga (Genentoa) lake, and the visit to 
the Onondaga villages. Subsequent accounts 
tell of the French settlement formed about what 
is known as the '' Jesuit Wells," on the easterly 
shore of Onondaga lake, a little south of the 
village of Liverpool. The place pointed out is 
within a stone's throw of the traditional scene 
of Hiawatha's giving the form of federation to 
the Five Nations, and of his translation in his 



MISSION AT GENENTOA 159 

white canoe. " The site was a dehghtful one, 
easy of access from all directions," says the 
historian. It was the first French colony in the 
present United States, and was known as St. 
Mary's of Genentoa, from the Indian name of 
the lake. A fort, a chapel (the first Catholic 
erected in the state of New York), and a village 
were hailt. The place was garrisoned and a 
French officer named Depuys was in command. 
The missionaries were Father Claude Dablon, 
Joseph Chaumonot and Rene Mesnard. The 
first Sabbath bell rang out from the cupola of 
the mission chapel at St. Mary's. This bell is 
said now to be at Quebec, and parts of the altar 
furniture to be iu Paris and other parts in Phila- 
delphia. The history of the mission is very 
interesting. The Rev. Dr. John F. Mullaney of 
St. John's church, Syracuse, has been deeply 
interested in the restoration of the scene of this 
mission and in the purpose of making it a cen- 
ter of interest to the Catholics of this region of 
country. He has pubhshed an account of the 
pioneer Catholic church in the state of New 
York, St. John the Baptist of former Salina. 
The mission at Genentoa was relinquished in 
1658, on account of troubles with the ludians, 
and the colonists fled back to Canada. 

Arrival at Genentoa 

Father LeJeune's account of the arrival at 



160 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Genentoa is graphic. He recounts the joyful 
ending of the journey thither, and the demon- 
stration made. Five pieces of cannon were 
disembarked, and their thunder, aided by the 
firing of arquebuses, rolled majestically over the 
waters of the little lake, being the first volleys 
from artillery ever heard in the valleys and over 
the hills of the Onondaga country. A great 
multitude of " the ancients '' were gathered 
and the reverberations of the cannonading much 
surprised them. The Indians' reception was 
cordial, and the French greatly interested those 
simple people with their religious exercises. 
The formal ceremonies that followed were pro- 
longed and impressive. The presents given to 
the Indians were fine and many. The work of 
proselyting the Indians was taken up actively. 
The mission at Genentoa was built as rapidly as 
possible. The Indians were friendly and all 
went well for a time. Mosquitoes were the 
most savage enemies encountered. But later 
the enterprise failed to prosper. Instigated by 
the jealous Mohawks and Oneidas, the Ononda-' 
gas became hostile, and the mission was aban- 
doned. It existed from November 5th, 1655, to 
March 20th, 1658. The story of the great feast 
to which the treacherous and malevolent Indians 
were invited, during which the French colonists 
made ready and took their departure, is roman- 



THE JESUIT WELLS 161 

tic. The hopes of the French were seriously 
bhghted by this result. 

The Jesuit Wells 

At the site of St. Mary's at Genentoa were 
the two famous springs known as the Jesuit 
wells. They were reputed to be marvelous; 
being only a few feet apart, and yet one flowing 
sweet water and the other salt water.. Doctor 
Beauchamp holds that these springs both were 
fresh, and that the wonderful companion fresh 
and salt water springs were located at the pres- 
ent site of Salina. 

The Jesuit wells some years ago were con- 
veyed to the ownership and care of the Onon- 
daga Historical association ; but recently a land 
owner in the locality fenced in the ground, 
filled up the springs, destroyed the beautiful ra- 
vines in which these wells were located and 
made it a potato field. 

The next mission, that of St. John the Bap- 
tist, was established among the hills of Onon- 
daga in 1j666, but it did not attain the impor- 
tance of that of St. Mary's at Genentoa. It is 
stated that the missionaries and settlers were 
masacred in 161)9. Jesuit missionaries contin- 
ued, however, to dwell among the Onondagas 
till about 1710. They compiled a dictionary 
and grammar of the Onondaga language, with 
spelling books and religious translations, and 



162 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

recorded many interesting notes of their resi- 
dence here. As early as 1615 Champlain, the 
French explorer, visited Onondaga lake, and a 
French expedition under Frontenac invaded the 
Onondaga country in 1695, 

Bayard Taylor, the great traveller and author, 
visited the site of Genentoa in 1865, and Daniel 
Willard Fiske, his companion, says: " Looking 
at the spot with an eye thoroughly accustomed 
to the study of landscapes, Mr. Taylor confessed 
that in its summer aspect, with the placid lake 
and the thriving city framed by the green-clad 
hills of Onondaga, it afforded a scene of strik- 
ing beauty. He expressed his surprise that 
Syracuse, happily blessed with a historical local- 
ity of so much interest, has not as yet marked 
it monumentally." There has been an effort, 
ineffectual it is true, to erect a memorial over 
the Jesuit wells. 

The Jesuit Eelations, which contain the annual 
reports sent home by the Jesuit Superior in 
North America, to the general of the order in 
Europe, are the sources of the earliest history of 
the northern United States. The first foot- 
prints of the white race in the vast watershed 
of the Great Lakes were those of the faithful, 
patient and zealous missionaries of the Society 
of Ignatius Loyola. The importance of the Re- 
lations in historical aspects cannot be overrated. 



FACTS ABOUT ONONDAGA LAKE 163 

The Canadian government was the first to pub- 
lish them, and the state of New York has issued 
a translation. The most complete edition has 
been put forth recently at Cleveland, 0. But 
for the Relations the history of Onondaga would 
be almost a blank down to the middle of the 
eighteenth century. 

Onondaga Lake 

There is a tradition that Onondaga lake was 
formerly sixty to eighty feet higher than in re- 
cent times; had this been true, the lake would 
have been boundless, and its waters a part of 
those of Lake Ontario. There are physical evi- 
dences that the Onondaga valley was at one 
time an inland sea, and probably a salt sea. 

Onondaga lake is not the deep body of water 
it is reputed to be. In fact, it is quite uniform 
in its deep places. George Geddes ascertained 
its greatest depth to be about sixty- five feet. It 
is, however, subject to high winds, and it has> 
been the scene of a series of fatal casualties. 



-r\A/El_F='-rH F^AF'EF^ 

The Salt Point Blockhouse 

This paper is devoted to the prehistoric and 
aboriginal defensive works in the Onondaga 
country, of which abundant evidences existed 
half a century ago, and many of which are still 
recognizable. They extended over a period of 
hundreds of years; indeed, much of these primi- 
tive works were built by an unknown people in 
a remote time, certainly anterior to the coming 
hither of the Iroquois about •100 years ago. 

In the year the county of Onondaga was 
erected, 1794, there was a great scare among the 
inhabitants because of reported expeditions of 
hostile Indians into this region of the new coun- 
try. There was war in the Ohio region and a 
belligerent spirit was manifested by the Indians 
in western and northern New York, incited by 
British troops on the frontier. Some of the 
Onondagas had joined the belligerent forces in 
the West. Such was the apprehended danger 
that many of the settlers baried their valuables 
and some of them made ready to fly from the 
region. There was a conference held at More- 
house's tavern in eastern Onondaga to make 

(164) 



BUILDING OF A BLOCKHOUSE 165 

provision for the public safety, and a representa- 
tive was dispatched to Albany to lay the situa- 
tion before the Governor. The Governor depu- 
tized Gen. William North, Gen. Stephen Van 
Rensselaer and Adj. Gen. David Van Home to 
meet Baron Steuben at his home in Oneida 
county and all together proceed to Onondaga, 
and under their authority as commissioners to 
erect such fortifications as they might consider 
necessary for the defense of the northern and 
western frontiers of the state and act as was 
deemed expedient. The commissioners came 
to Morehouse's, where a review of the military 
of the county took place, and then they went 
to Salt Point to examine the locality recom- 
mended for the proposed defensive works — a 
blockhouse — into which the inhabitants could 
retire and make resistance to an attacking force 
should it come. The commission found the peo- 
ple in great excitement, and such was the popu- 
lar fear that the inhabitants, about thirty fami- 
lies, had taken refuge in the near-by woods, 
Thompson's sugar bush, where they were con- 
cealed for three days and nights, A committee 
of public safety was appointed, consisting of 
Moses DeWitt, Isaac Van Vleck, Thomas Orman,, 
Simon Pharis and John Danforth and Asa Dan- 
forth and Moses DeWitt were appointed to 
superintend the building of the blockhouse, 



106 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



which the commission ordered. Baron Steuben 
located the structure, whose site was duly staked 
out, and the house was constructed by Cornelius 
Higgins. The accompanying illustration is 
from a picture belonging to the Onondaga His- 
torical association. 




BLOCKHOUSE. 1792, AT SALINA 

The blockhouse was demohshed in 1816, but 
its site is pointed out on the bluff to the right 
on the northerly side of the Oswego canal 
bridge, nearly in front of the state's pumphouse. 
It was made of oak timbers, hewed square, and 
was surrounded with 20-foot cedar palisades. 
The structure was 20 feet high, and was pierced 
with portholes. A volunteer company from 



SPIES PUBLICLY WHIPPED 167 

Onondaga Hill, called " The Grenadiers," occu- 
pied it, and a 6-pounder cannon, with arms and 
ammunition, was supplied from the state com- 
missary. The blockhouse was occupied by 
troops into 1795, the necessity for its use passing 
away, and for some time it was used as a state 
storehouse for salt. 

At this time, although peace had been de- 
clared between Great Britain and the United 
States, a British garrison was maintained at 
Oswego, and American boats conveying supplies 
had been plundered on the Oswego river. There 
was understood to be a purpose to fall ujDon and 
destroy the Onondaga settlements. Spies being 
set to notify the British at Oswego of approach- 
ing boats, so that they might be stopped and tolls 
collected, the people at Salina captured two of 
them and pubhcly whipped them. Hence the 
retaliation against the Onondaga settlements. 
Ancient Fortification Near Green Point 

The easterly shores of Onondaga lake between 
the sites of the villages of Salina and Liverpool, 
are very interesting in their ancient remains, 
whose existence w^as known to the early settlers, 
but whose origin and history are not now at all 
understood. The mission house and church and 
fortification at the Jesuit wells are the best 
known in that vicinity ; but the old fortification, 
on the lake shore, near that site, which was 



168 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



clearly distinguishable about a hundred years 
ago, was not identified, beyond its lines and 
proportions, and the inference that it was of 
French construction and occupancy. This fort 







THE OLD FORT NEAR LIVERPOOL 
AAA A— Parapets. B B— Gateways. C— Spring and Well. 



. . — Palisades 



was probably the one built by Frontenac at the 
time of his invasion, in August, 1696. 

Judge James Geddes wrote that, in 1797, 
when the Surveyor- General laid out the salt 
lands, he acted as deputy surveyor, and in trav- 
ersing the shores of the lake from Brown's 
pumphouse to Liverpool he found traces of an 
old stockade, of which he made a survey and 



OLD TIME DEFENSES 169 

map. It was near a fine spring of water and 
in a pleasant locality on a commanding situation. 
Its angles were true, and evidently it was made 
by skilled engineers. Mr. Geddes filed his map 
in the Surveyor-General's office at Albany. (A 
copy of the draft appears herewith.) An old 
deserted hotise stood on the site until recent 
years. All traces of the earthwork disappeared 
at least seventy-five years ago, but the locality 
has been prolific of relics, brass kettles, gunbar- 
rels, musket balls, hatchets, etc. Burnt earth 
and calcined stones, where fires had been made, 
were plentifully found at this place. 

Aiicieut Works Near Delphi in Poiiipey 

Herewith is an illustration of ancient earth- 
works near Delphi in the town of Pompey, 
which fifty years ago were in good preservation. 
No. 1 represents the ruins of an old fort on 
lot 100, Pompey, eight acres inclosed, and ad- 
joining an extensive burying-ground. It was 
on elevated grouud, on either side of which 
was a deep ravine made by running water, con- 
stituting the elevation into a triangle. Clark 
relates that there w^ere appearances as though of 
recent occupation. Wherever a picket had stood 
there was a slight depression in the earth. 
What evidently had been a blacksmith's forge 
and a granery were plainly discernable. Three 
gateways were recognizable, A mound or has- 



170 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



tion was at the front. A ditch and pickets 
marked the enclosure. The trees within were 
fruit and ornamental, whose growth was less 
than that of the trees outside the original forest. 
Other remains of a similar nature were dis- 
covered at several points within a radius of two 
or three miles about Delphi. 



vv 




BURviNC CROunio. ^ Craves. 

A>X'IENT WORKS ixEAR DELPHI 

The picture No. 2 represents one of these. 
Evidences that the land had been cleared for 
quite a space existed. Corn hills were distinctly 
traced. Many fruit trees were found. These 
antedated the present growths, which are be- 
lieved to be 250 years old. 

Across in Madison county are many like relics 



EARLIER EVIDENCES 171 

of forts and settlements. " So common," says 
Clark, " are works of this description in this 
neighborhood, and so extensive are the burial 
places of the dead, that the most undoubted 
-evidences exist that a numerous population must 
have at some early period inhabited this part of 
the country." 

Prehistoric Evidences 

The first men who came into the Onondaga 
country were not permanent settlers; they came 
here to hunt and fish. Some of them came out 
of the West, from the borders of the great lakes, 
as the striped slate, the bird and bear amulets 
indicate. They had few villages and these were 
transient. The prehistoric comers are known 
from the relics they left behind them, which 
differ from those of the aborigines. The arche- 
ologists recognize the several races of inhabitants 
here by the remains of their occupation, and 
they prove that some were out of the territory 
on either side of Lake Michigan, and others 
from the north river, beyond Lake Ontario and 
St. Lawrence river. 

Southeast of Onondaga lake was the home of 
the Onondagas, and their various locations are 
readily traced. The northern part of the pres- 
ent Onondaga county is filled with relics which 
indicate prehistoric occupation. The Iroquois 
coming is fixed at from 300 to 400 years ago. 



172 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

What people were before here, to leave the ex- 
tensive remains that show their occupancy, but 
without any traces of whither they came, how 
long they stayed, or who or what they were, is 
not recorded or otherwise known. This line of 
inquiry gets no solution. 

There are scant evidences of early people in 
the towns of Camillus, Fabius, Skaneateles, 
Spafford, Otisco, and Tully. Manlius and Mar- 
cellus reveal relics, but no villages. The terri- 
tory watered by the Seneca and Oneida rivers 
and Oneida and Onondaga lakes is filled with 
interesting remains of the Indian occupation. 
Extensive collections have been made of the 
relics of the prehistoric and aboriginal times, 
none better in all the countr3^ Cabinets through- 
out the continent are enriched by these curiosi- 
ties, and those left within this county are com- 
paratively small and inconsequential, with few 
exceptions. The remains of Indian fishing vil- 
lages and of Indian fish- weirs in lakes and rivers 
are interesting. 

Other Early Defenses 

The stockade on lot No. 6 Van Buren, was ex- 
tensive, 150 by 500 feet, and very like the recent 
forts in the town of Onondaga. Another fort 
existed on lot No. 16. Burial places have alsO' 
been identified in Baldwinsville. 



PREHISTORIC REMAINS 173 

In Elbridge there was an Onondaga village 
near Cross lake and a number of camps and 
hamlets along the lake shores. South of El- 
bridge was a group of prehistoric remains, earth- 
works, lodge fires, fragments of pottery, etc. 
Earthworks were formerly traceable on lots Nos. 
70 and 81 in this town. It is a hundred years 
since these were plainly identified. 

On the west shore of Onondaga lake, from 
Nine Mile creek to the outlet, there were ham- 
lets and camps, all earlier than the Iroquois 
occupation. In recent years this was a favorite 
collection ground. In the woods at Long Branch 
was an Indian mound, and another in the near 
vicinity. When these were opened, skeletons, 
arrows, belts and pipes were found. One mound 
was oblong; the other circular. The earth to 
build them was brought from the adjacent 
higher land. 

ADtecedent to Syracuse 

Kaneenda, a village of the Onondagas, often 
referred to in the Relations, was near the mouth 
of Onondaga creek, old channel, and was occu- 
pied in both early and recent times. The germ 
of Syracuse was located along the creek just 
above the site of this village, soon after Web- 
ster's locating his trading post at the creek's 
mouth. 

The eastern shore of Onondaga lake near the 



174 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

vicinity of Kaneenda, was rich in relics, where 
there were frequent camps and hamlets, mostly 
quite ancient. 

The unearthing of twenty skeletons from a 
gravel bed in what is now East Syracuse, was 
told in the newspapers of 1878. The finding of 
skeletons, some of them very large, occurred in 
the excavation for the Erie canal locks just west 
of Syracuse, within old Geddes, and Cheney 
tells of digging up skeletons near where the pio- 
neer Neukirk was buried in the sand close by 
where Geddes street runs north, north of West 
Genesee street. 

Johnson's Fort in the Valley 

On Webster's mile-square, in 1756, Sir William 
Johnson built a stockade, remains of which 
were left when the valley was settled, in 1788. 
The graded way of field stone from the terrace 
still exists and is called the Military road. 
Traces of the fireplaces in the blockhouse and 
of the blacksmith's shop are well remembered 
by living persons. Two Onondaga villages, 
further up the valley, were burned by Van 
Schaick's expedition in 1779. Prehistoric ham- 
lets are noted in various adjacent localities. 
Some interesting relics have been dug up, and 
among them valuable historic medals. 

A stockade on lot 3, LaFayette, was burned 
by Frontenac's expedition in 1696, and most of 



INDIAN VILLAGES 175 

the relics found there are modern, A burial 
place and several natural mounds are near it. 
On lot 13 was an Indian village, described by 
Bertram in 1713. It was agricultural, and its 
orchard supplied the early settlers. 

Earliest Onondaga Villages 

Pompey contained the earliest Indian villages, 
and their number varies, according to several 
authorities, from fifteen to eighty. The earliest 
site of the Onondagas is next to lot 41 on the 
county line, and is known as the Atwill fort. 
It was occupied about 1600. Its evidences were 
very interesting, and its rehcs of bone fishhooks 
and pottery bearing human faces and forms are 
quite rare. It was a long stockado on a ridge 
between two ravines. Half a dozen other stock- 
ades in old Pompey and the towns carved out 
of it are described by Clark and Beauchamp, 
and their construction and the relics found in 
and about them constitute an absorbing chapter 
in the archeology of the region. Much of the 
characteristics of the early Indians in the Onon- 
daga country is derived from these evidences. 
The Largest Indian Tillage 

Indian Hill, on lot 9, Pompey, about two 
miles south of Manlius village, is the most in- 
teresting of all. The outline of this town was 
elliptical, about 1,650 by 450 feet, and it was a 
broad table-land between two streams. Beau- 



176 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

champ saya: " Everywhere there are traces of 
the French missions of the seventeenth century, 
and a vast amount of metaUic works has been 
carried away as well as trinkets of all kinds. 
This was the largest town the Onondagas ever 
occupied, for they were then in the height of 
their power. The burial ground lay on the north, 
and along the sides of the ravine. Part of a 
large bowlder, used in sharpening tools, has 
been removed, but there are six hollows in the 
remaining portion, which is about seven feet 
long." Not less than twelve other burial places 
are described by Clark and Beauchamp, in the 
same vicinity, each having considerable interest. 




CENTENNIAL MEDAL ISSUED UY ONONDAGA HISTORICAL 
ASSOCIATION IN 1894 

All these things, and much more of the early 
accessible history, go to make up the conditions 
which existed here in the Onondaga country 



A SOLID FOUNDATION 177 

when in the last quarter of the eighteenth 
century the New England emigrants came into 
the Onondaga valley and upon the heights of 
Pompey and Otisco and thence onward steadily 
flowed into this beautiful, fertile and attractive 
region, and laid the foundation of the large and 
prosperous communities now here, a little more 
than a single century later. 



THIF^TEENTH F='AF=ER 

Like New Eiiglaiid Villages 

The early villages in Onondaga county were 
laid out on the plan of the New England villages 
which were established in colonial times, with a 
broad, well-shaded avenue running throughout 
the length, along which business places and resi- 
dences were located in surroundings of shade 
and beauty. Elbridge and Fabius are types of 
this style of the early villages, which have not 
outgrown the original plan. Cities and towns 
in Massachusetts and Connecticut have these 
special features. The same plan was adopted in 
old Manlius, Onondaga Hill, Onondaga Valley, 
Skaneateles, Otisco, Marcellus, Camillus, Tully, 
etc. These distinctive phases are still retained in 
those places. Together with the old churches 
and other old structures, the broad main street 
gives these places a delightful air of breadth and 
freedom that cramped and confined places do 
not have. Early Salina and Syracuse had the 
same characteristics. One of the most public - 
spirited of early Syracusans, Gen. Elias W. 
Leavenworth, with old-fashioned Connecticut 
predilections, strove for broad avenues, and 

(178) 



THE FIRST NEWSPAPER 179 

would have had nothing less than 80-foot streets. 
and the principal highways 100 to 120 feet wide. 
Salina street and Genesee street were started on 
this liberal order. It is really a refreshing view 
in old-time villages to look into and through 
principal avenues not less than 100 feet in width, 
with green grass plots and shade trees lining 
these admirable highways. City streets of four 
rods width look narrow and mean in comparison. 

The First Newspaper in the County 

The earliest newspaper published within the 
limits of Onondaga county was the Derne Ga- 
zette, published in the present village of Manlius 
by Abraham Romeyn in 1806. It was contin- 
ued about a year. Its name was derived from a 
proposition to change the name of the village 
from Manlius to Derne, which did not succeed. 
Partisan politics ran high in those times, and it 
is related that the Derne Gazette might have had 
a much longer tenure of life had not its editor 
closed the columns of his paper to political discus- 
sion. He was a Federalist, and would allow no 
other doctrine to be preached in his little sheet. 
He was persecuted by a number of libel suits, on 
account of his strictures upon political opponents 
to whom he denied a hearing. Other papers, 
more liberal, sprang up and his went out. Suc- 
cessive papers, eight in number, followed up to 
1831. Thurlow Weed edited and published the 




JOSHUA V. H. CLARK 

Born in Cazenovia, N. Y., February 6th, 1803; died in Manlius, N. Y., June 18th, 1869. 

Published his History of Onondaga County in 1849. 



NAMING OF TOWNS 181 

Manlius Times for three years, beginning in 1821. 
Inquiry was recently made in Manlius as to Mr. 
Weed's location. After some difficulty it was 
ascertained that his printing office and residence 
were the little 1 -story building located on the 
corner of Pleasant and Franklin streets, nearly 
opposite the former residence of Clark, the his- 
torian. It is standing in a dilapidated condi- 
tion, with no traces of its pristine importance. 

Origin of Town Names 

While most of the towns in Onondaga county 
are named from classical persons or places, there 
are some that got their names from prominent 
Americans. Clay was called from Henry Clay, 
the great Kentuckiau; DeWitt, from Moses 
DeWitt, an early settler, cousin of Gov. DeWitt 
Clinton and of Simeon DeWitt, the Surveyor- 
General of the state, who had the Military Tract 
surveyed and who is responsible for the classical 
nomenclature; Geddes, from James Geddes, 
who introduced the salt manufacture in that 
locality, and who, together with Joshua Forman, 
were the Erie canal pioneers; Lafayette, from 
the distinguished Frenchman who espoused the 
cause of the infant American colonies; Onon- 
daga, from the aborigines, who were at the set- 
tlement located within the town's limits ; Salina, 
from the salt springs or salines first discovered 



182 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

in that locality, giving the place its early name 
of Salt Point ; Skaueateles, from an Indian word, 
signifying " beautiful lake; " Spafford, from 
Horatio Gates Spafford, the author of the first 
Gazetteer of the state; Van Buren, from Presi- 
dent Martin Van Buren, the statesman, who 
spent much of his vacation in Onondaga, both 
before and after he was chief magistrate of the 
United States. 

The names of Camillus, Cicero, Fabius, Ly- 
sander, Manlius, Marcellus, Pompey, and TuUy 
were unmistakably of classical derivation, Syra- 
cuse was, after it had borne several unsatisfac- 
tory names, called from the ancient Syracuse, 
on suggestion of John Wilkinson, w^ho discovered 
a resemblance in the locations and surroundings 
of the places. 

Indian Friendliness 

During the pioneer settlements, when the best 
efforts were made to preserve friendly relations 
with the Indians, the latter reciprocated in kind. 
Few instances are recorded in which Indian 
aggressions were made upon the whites, who 
were few in numbers and subject to the supe- 
rior physical power of the aborigines. A pecul- 
iar characteristic of the Onondagas is related of 
that period. Whenever the Indians went on a 
drunken frolic they appointed one of their num- 
ber to w hom they delivered their deadly weap- 




MANLIUS VILLAGE AND ITS BROAU MAIN STREET 
(Reproduced from an Old Print) 



184 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ons and especially charged him to keep sober 
and retain the arms. They chose a confidential 
person, who would be true to his trust. The 
Indians going on a spree well knew that it 
meant excess and oblivious drunkenness, in 
which they might inflict injury upon their com- 
panions or any whites who came in their way. 
The Indians were more thoughtful in this re- 
spect than the pale faces. 

Feud of Oiiondagas and Cayugas 

In 1795, the year after the county was organ- 
ized, a serious feud broke out between clans of 
Onondagas and Cayugas. It raged with great 
fierceness for some time and whenever the hos- 
tile parties met, there was sure to be violence 
and oftentimes murder. The vendetta was 
brought to an end in a bloody and deadly strife 
in which the handsomest of the Onondaga 
braves was the victim. "Handsome Harry," 
as he was known, was followed by a party of 
Cayugas from Tonawanda, and was overtaken 
by his pursuers at the sand bank, located near 
the western bounds of old Syracuse, and later 
owned by Henry Youngs, a place well-known 
in early times, but which has been obliterated 
by the march of improvements. " Handsome 
Harry " saw the fatuity of attempting to es- 
cape, and so, kneeling and baring his bosom, he 
received the fatal arrow of his slayer in his 



A child's death 185 

breast. He was buried on the spot where he 
fell, and his sisters, very handsome squaws, 
daily visited and wailed over his grave. This 
event put an end to the feud ; afterwards peace 
reigned between the Onondagas and Cayugas. 

A Child's Death in the New Country 

The grim messenger of death spares not the 
pioneer settlement. " Let us attend a first 
funeral," writes the Rev. Mr. Palmer, in his 
account of pioneer events in southern Onon- 
daga. " A girl of five years has died. The 
intelligence rapidly spreads for miles around 
among the scattered settlers, and the character- 
istic kindness found in such settlements is at 
once apparent. The day and hour of sepulture 
are fixed, a grave is opened, a large chest fur- 
nishes materials for the rude coffin; all things 
are ready, the hour has arrived, and the scene is 
hushed in stillness. The father never has pro- 
fessed to have a Lord or Saviour; the mother 
was a believer in the old home down East. A 
painful silence ensues, which at last is broken 
by the mother's agonized wail. ' Will not some 
one pray ? I cannot have little Mary buried 
so! ' Another pause; and then the sobbing 
mother kneels by the little coffin and pours out 
her heart's anguish before her God and Saviour, 
and seeks not only balm for her wounded spirit, 
but that God in mighty power would come to 



186 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

bestow a spirit of prayer and peace and right- 
eousness in the whole settlement. The call was 
answered. ' ' 

A FiUTious Family 

The DeWitt family figured extensively in the 
new Onondaga country. Its principal local rep- 
resentative was Moses DeWitt, the surveyor, 
who had brothers and other relatives in the 
settlements. He was a cousin of Gov. DeWitt 
Clinton, and a nephew of Gen. James Clinton, 
under whom he ran the New York and Pennsyl- 
vania boundary line w^hen a mere youth. He 
was a nephew of Gen. Simeon DeWitt, the 
Surveyor-General of the state, and he, together 
with Abraham Hardenburg, under the Surveyor- 
General, surveyed the Military Tract. He it was 
who gave the towns the grandly classical names 
which they bear to this day. He also was Sur- 
rogate and County Judge, and held other civil 
positions. He was, as also was Asa Danforth, a 
major in command of a militia battalion. He 
resided in old Pompey, now Lafayette, and had 
landed property in the town of DeWitt, which 
town was named after him. Major DeWitt died 
at the early age of 28 years, and was buried 
near Jamesville. A visit recently to his burial 
place shows it to be neglected, the stone mark- 
ing the grave being overturned and broken in 



GRAVES OF THE DEWITTS 187 

two. The De Witts were of a distinguished 
Holland family. 

The stone in the little family burying ground 
bears this inscription: " Here lie the remains of 
Moses DeWitt, Major of Militia, and Judge of 
the County Courts, one of the first, most active 
and useful settlers in the county. He was born 
on the 15th day of October, 1766, and died on 
the 15th day of August, 1794, aged 28 years." 
The same stone bears inscriptions of Egbert 
DeWitt and of Jacob R. DeWitt. 

A Baih'oad Village 

East Syracuse, the most considerable railroad 
village in Central jNew York, was incorporated 
November 12th, 1881. It drew its population 
mainly from the old Fifth ward in Syracuse. 
Nine years before the Central bought lands 
there for the establishing of freight yards, 
engine houses, etc. Then began the growth of 
a flourishing community. From four dwellings 
there sprang up a community of 2,500 people. 
Considerable business enterprises have located 
there and in the vicinity. 

A Tillage of Early Times 

Fayettville, in the first years of its settlement, 
was widely known to the travelling public as 
" the village of four taverns and no meeting 
house. ' ' It since has bravely recovered. 



188 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

First Circulating Library 

The circulating library at Eagle Village was 
the earliest in the Onondaga country. It con- 
tained several hundred well-selected volumes 
and was the means of affording much entertain- 
ment and of spreading much good information 
in the surrounding communities. 

Some Corrections 

Doctor Beauchamp corrects Clark's measure- 
ments of the old forts near Delphi in the town 
of Pompey, reproduced in part 12 of these pa- 
pers. He says : " In figure 1 the stockade is too 
large and disproportionately wide. It was about 
four acres, and its date 1620. Figure 2 also is 
too large and wide. It was about four and a 
half acres, and was occupied about 1600. The 
Sheldon fort was a stockade, about four acres in 
extent, and occupied about 1630." One of 
these years antedates the Pilgrims at Plymouth 
and another is simultaneous with their landing. 
" Indian fort," Beauchamp says, " was on lot 
23, Pompey. The cannon balls found there are 
probably of recent date. Grooved boulders, like 
the big one there, are found in many places. ' ' 

Doctor Beauchamp says that Clark correctly 
quotes that " the only meeting house between 
New Hartford and the Pacific ocean was the 



I 



CORRECTIONS 189 

-one built in 1803 in Marcellus (the church of the 
Eastern society) ; ' ' but he adds : " A church was 
built in East Bloomfield in 1801, which is said to 
have been the first in western New York." 

The fragments of a bell with the tongue at- 
tached, found at Indian Hill, were of the old 
mission bell at Onondaga (Genentoa) lake. 



F='CZ>UF=J"rEEN-rH F=AF=ER 
The County's Area Diminished 

Onondaga county, formed from Herkimer 
(originally Tryon) county, March 5th, 1794, in 
eluded the original Military Tract, set apart for 
bounties to soldiers of the Eevolutionary war, 
was diminished to its present area of 812 square 
miles by the taking off of Cayuga county, 
March 8th, 1799; Cortland, April 8th, 1808; a 
part of Oswego, March 1st, 1816, and parts of 
Seneca, March 29th, 1804, and Tompkins, April 
17th, 1817, from Cayuga. All west of the origi- 
nal county of Albany was Tryon, which became 
Herkimer, and then was sub-divided into the 
present civil divisions. At the close of the Eev- 
olution there were fourteen counties in the state 
of New York; now there are sixty-one. The 
Mohawk valley counties were mostly settled by 
Holland Dutch, and when Onondaga was opened 
up the settlers were mostly all from New Eng- 
land. The institutions, customs and habits of 
the New England colonists were brought hither 
by the early settlers. 

Treaties between the state of New York and 
the chiefs of the Onondaga nation of the Iro- 
quois were executed: 

(190) 



TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS 191 

First, at Fort S(;huyler (Utica) by Sir George 
Clinton and associate commissioners on the part 
of the state and chiefs of the Onondagas, Sep- 
tember 12th, 1788, when the Indians ceded for- 
ever to the state all their lands, save the Onon- 
daga reservation and the right to fish and hunt 
on said lands ; and the land for one mile about 
the salt lake (Onondaga), and the lake itself, to 
be held for the common benefit of both Indians 
and whites for salt-making purposes. In pay- 
ment for which the Indians were to receive 
1,000 French crowns and £'2(H) worth of clothing, 
together with an annuity of $500 in silver, the 
state agreeing to protect the Indians in their 
rights on the reservation. 

Second, at Onondaga, March 11th, 1793, be- 
tween John Cantine and Simeon DeWitt on the 
part of the state, and the Onondaga chiefs, 
ceding parts of the Onondaga reservation em- 
braced in the salt lands; consideration a pay- 
ment of 1^210 and further annuity of $110. The 
right to lay roads through the reservation was 
granted. 

Third, at Cayuga Ferry, July 28th, 1795, by 
Philip Schuyler and assistants, for the state, 
with the Onondaga chiefs, increasing the an- 
nuity to the Onondagas to 8800, the Indians re- 
nouncing their right to the Onondaga lake and 
the mile of territory around it, and to half 



192 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

a mile along the Onondaga creek, for the added 
annuity of $700 and 100 bushels of salt, — mak- 
ing the total annuity in money, clothing and 
salt, $2,430. 

Fourth, at Albany, February 11th, 1822, the 
Onondagas selling to the state 800 acres of land 
from the south end of the reservation for $1,700. 

In 1883-4 negotiations were entered into for 
the dissolution of the tribal relations of the On- 
ondaga nation and the division of Indian lands 
in severalty by E. B. Judson, J. F. Seymour 
and C. N. Sims, commissioners for the state, and 
the Onondaga chiefs, but after treaty provisions 
had been prepared, the Onondaga nation rejected 
them. 

The enumeration of Indians on the Onondaga 
reservation shows these totals : 1855, 349; 1865, 
360; 1875, 401; 1892, 509. There are Ononda- 
gas on other reservations, bringing their num- 
bers up to between 700 and 800 ; and instead of 
thus decreasing, the census shows that they are 
slowly increasing in numbers. 

Origin of tlie Ouoiidagas 

David Cusick's history of the Six Nations 
relates the tradition of the origin of the Iro- 
quois in "the holder of the heavens" taking 
them out of a hill near Oswego Falls, and lead- 
ing them down the Mohawk and Hudson rivers 
to the sea, where they became scattered; but 



INDIAN TRADITIONS 193 

their great leader brought six families back to 
the junction of the Hudson and Mohawk, whence 
they proceeded westerly under his guidance, and 
were located as Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, 
Cayugas and Seuecas, the sixth family being 
taken to the Mississippi river, and being divided 
by the breaking of the grape-vine bridge upon 
which they attempted to cross over, those left 
on this side travelled eastward and became the 
Tuscaroras, who, joining the nations, made the 
number full. 

Cusick relates the mythological accounts of 
the invasions of the Indian country by the Fly- 
ing Heads, which- ravaged the habitations, the 
Lake Serpent, which did great destruction, and 
the Stone Giants, which waged cruel, unrelent- 
ing war, and the Giant Mosquito, which, after 
doing great mischief, was killed at what is now 
Centerville, and from its blood sprung all the 
brood of minor mosquitoes. These and other 
stories embody the exaggerated traditions of the 
Onondagas. When the Cardiff Giant was un- 
earthed the Onondagas came in numbers and 
greeted the stone man as one of the enemies who 
centuries ago invaded and played havoc with 
the Indian country. 

The more probable origin of the Onondagas 
is that the Iroquois were four or five hundred 
years ago in Canada, and that from the Niagara 



194 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

river they migrated both east and west. This 
migration left the Onondagas in the Jefferson 
county region. About 1600 they came down 
into this region, where prehistoric people lived 
before their coming, and they located first on the 
site of Fenner, Madison county; then they 
moved to the Indian Hill site in Pompey, where 
was their largest village; thence to the vicinity 
of where Jamesville now stands (Greenhalge 
describes their village in 1677); then, about 1700, 
to near Onondaga Hollow, w^here they are de- 
scribed by Bertram, and where Sir William John- 
son built them a fort in 1756. The Van Schaick 
expedition in 1779 destroyed their villages. 
They then located in their present reservation, 
where they since have enjoyed a rather quiet 
existence for about 120 years. They are inoffen- 
sive and scarcely self-supporting, and are living 
out the probationary period of the remnants of 
the ' ' noble red men ' ' in the Onondaga country. 
The Onondagas, the Men of the Mountains, 
claimed at one time to have 4,000 warriors. It 
is known that the braves numbered about 1,000, 
when the French and English wars w^ere being 
fought in their territory. There was a great 
decadence for many years after the whites came 
to rule the country, but in recent years there is 
a manifest improvement, and in numbers, intel- 
ligence and morality there is very decided gain. 



BOUNTY LANDS 195 

The Military Tract 

Under the treaty of 1788 the Onondagas ceded 
to the state of New York all their lands-except- 
ing the Onondaga reservation and fishing and 
hunting rights; and the lands thus acquired and 
another tract lying west were under act of Con- 
gress, September 16th, 1776, and other legisla- 
tion, set apart as bounty lands to soldiers of the 
Eevolutionary war, and became known as the 
Military Tract. It included all the territory 
within the original county of Onondaga, and 
now constituting the counties of Onondaga, 
Cayuga, Cortland and Seneca and parts of the 
counties of Oswego, Tompkins and Wayne, 

The Military Tract was laid out by Surveyor- 
General Simeon DeWitt into twenty-five town- 
ships, each intended to contain as nearly as pos- 
sible 60,000 acres of land, and each township^ 
being divided into 100 lots. Three more like 
townships were added to the tract, making 
twenty-eight in all. Following is a complete 
list of them : 

No. Township Present Towns County 

1 Lysander .... Ly sander Onondaga 

South part of Granby Oswego 

2 Hannibal . . . .Hannibal, west part of city of Oswe- 

go and north part of Granby Oswego 

3 Cato Victory and Ira, and north parts of 

Conquest and Cato Cayuga 

4 Brutus Brutus and JVIentz, and parts of Con- 

quest, Cato, Montezuma, Throop 

and Sennet Cayuga 




ORIGINAL MILITARY TRACT-ONONDAGA COUNTY AS FIRST ESTABLISHED 



MILITARY TRACT TOWNSHIPS 197 

5 Camillus . . . . . Van Buren, Elbvitlge and part of 

Camillus Onondaga 

6 Cicero Clay and Cicero Onondaga 

7 Manlius DeWitt, Manlius and part of Salina. .Onondaga 

8 Aurelius ....Auburn city, Fleming, Owasco, 

Throop, Sennet, part of Aure- 
lius, one lot in Montezuma Cayuga 

9 Marcellus . . .Skaneateles and Marcellus, parts of 

Spaflford and Otisco Onondaga 

10 Pompey Pompey, most of Lafayette, three 

lots in Otisco Onondaga 

11 Romulus . . . .Romulus, west part of Fayette and 

Varick, four lots in Seneca Falls. .Seneca 

13 Scipio Scipio and Venice, south part of 

Ledyard, five lots in Niles and 
northwest corner of Moravia Cayuga 

13 Sempronius. .Moravia, Sempronius, most of Niles. .Cayuga 

Part of Spafford .... Onondaga 

14 Tully Tully, south part of Spafford and 

Otisco Onondaga 

Scott, Preble Cortland 

15 Fabius Fabius Onondaga 

North part of Truxton and Cuyler. . .Cortland 

16 Ovid Ovid, Lodi, Covert Seneca 

17 Milton Genoa Cayuga 

Lansing Tompkins 

18 Locke Groton Tompkins 

Locke, Summer Hill Cayuga 

19 Homer Homer, most of Cortland ville Cortland 

20 Solon Solon, Taylor, part of Truxton, 

Cuyler Cortland 

21 Hector Hector Schuyler 

22 Ulysses Ulysses, Enfield, Ithaca Tompkins 

23 Dryden Nearly all Dryden Tompkins 

24 Virgil Virgil, most of Harford and Lapeer, 

two and one-quarter lots of Cort- 
landville, one lot Freetown Cortland, 



198 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

25 Cinciunatus. .Clncinnatus, Freetown, most of Mar- 

athon Cortland 

26 Junius Junius, Tyre, Waterloo, north part 

of Seneca Falls Seneca 

27 Galen Galen, Savannah Wayne 

28 Sterling Sterling Cayuga ' 

East part Wolcott, Butler Wayne 

The " State's hundred " of the MiUtary Tract 
was the reservation from some of the lots of 100 
acres by arrangement with the Ohio soldiers, 
who had received that quantity of land in Ohio. 
The " Survey 50 acres " was set apart to pay 
the expenses of the surveys. Six lots in each 
township were devoted to gospel and school pur- 
poses. Many of the soldiers settled upon the 
bounty lands allotted to them ; others sold their 
lands without ever occupying them. Some 
frauds were attempted, and it was many years 
before settled conditions obtained. 

The Onondaga Reservation 

Under the several treaties the Reservation of 
the Onondaga nation was reduced from its origi- 
nal extent, embracing the whole town of La- 
fayette, Camillus, Geddes and the city of Syra- 
cuse, to the reserved lands in the town of La- 
fayette, adjoining the town of Onondaga on the 
south. The state Red Book makes the extent 
of the reservation to be 7,300 acres, while the 
survey of Colonel Carrington makes it 6,100 
acres. Of the lands upwards of 5,000 acres are 



RESERVED FOR INDIANS 199 

most excellent, either in timber or for farming. 
The rest is hilly and stony and includes valuable 
quarries of limestone. Springs of good water 
are abundant. The better lands are fertile and 
raise fine crops. While ancient customs and 
pagan rites are continued, there has nevertheless 
been considerable improvement in the conditions 
of the people in recent years. Christianity is 
gradually gaining ground. The state school is 
prosperous and better attended than formerly, 
and the missions are more thrifty and influential. 
About half the land of the reservation is under 
cultivation. An agricultural society is repre- 
sentative of the progress in farming, gardening, 
horticulture and stock raising. An Indian band 
shows the musical taste of the people, and a 
temperance association evidences the steady hab- 
its of many of the nation. The Onondagas 
were well represented in the war of 1812 and 
in the Civil war and acquitted themselves credit- 
ably. The government is in fifteen chiefs, who 
follow in the line of female royal descent, and 
their administration conforms to the ancient, 
unwritten laws of the nation. The pagan ele- 
ment is in the majority. 

The reservation at the last enumeration con- 
tained about 75 frame houses, many of them 
modern and comfortable, 26 frame barns, 26 
horse teams, 11 single horses and 7 yoke of 



ONONDAGA RESERVATIOJ 

18 90. 
ONONDAGA COUNTY. NEW, YORK. 



\UPost OpFicf 







5mBooiEDE'ui«i 



Locdtpd and plotted by 
•^ AREA,, 6100 Acres Henr^B Carnngton U.5A. 

Pbp.l890 494 All;lncl,ans '^pec'a) Ag'ent IP'-CensttS. 



STATUS OF THE ONONDAGAS 201 

oxen. Their industries and business were rep- 
resented by five grocery stores, a blacksmith 
shop, two carpenters, two shoemakers, etc. 
Two ministers Kve among them. The churches 
need to be helped, and the school is under 
state supervision. Both are in improved condi- 
tion. In some of the dwellings are modern im- 
provements, and pianos, house organs and other 
musical instruments are to be seen. Some of 
the Indian women develop rather remarkable 
business ability. The quarries and much of the 
tilled land are rented. 



F-IF-TEENXH F=AF=EFR 

Women of Pioneer Times 

The women of pioneer times have had scant 
recognition in the histories of those times. They 
had Httle or no part in the clearing of the land, 
the felling of the forests, the culture of the 
soil at least not so large a part as to be made a 
matter of record. But they did have import- 
ant relations to the home and the family, to 
education and religion; and their part was of as 
much consequence, and their lot as difficult and 
as hard as that of the men. In the iso- 
lated settlement in the embryo community, 
woman's presence was the civilizing and elevat- 
ing and ennobling influence, the motive to or- 
ganized society and to all progress. Without 
her pioneer life would have been unendurable, 
and its scheme barren. 

There are some glimpses of the home life of 
the colonists in the "Life of Josiah Quincy, " 
and sidelights are scattered in the pages of 
Bancroft, Hildreth, and Parkman, and in Green's 
" History of the People of the United States " 
record is made of the habits and customs of the 
better society of the Revolutionary period; but 

(202) 



woman's good work 203 

the family life of the pioDeer in the new regions 
of country is seldom touched upon. In the 
Onondaga country, when the clearings were made, 
the homes built, the church and school estab- 
lished, women had a foremost work to her credit. 
The prosperity and success of the early settle- 
ments were due to her co operation and labors, 
her economy and prudence, her enterprise and 
progress, her morality and circumspection. The 
home was constituted and kept together by 
woman; the children were taught in the home 
school; the church was established and promoted 
by women. Their privations and hardships 
were like those of their husbands, brothers and 
sons, whose toils, and troubles were greatly 
lessened by their presence and aid. Their lives 
expanded and blossomed out as thrift and pros- 
perity and comforts came to the family. The 
better, brighter side of pioneer life was in their 
keeping. 

In the past there were charming narratives of 
mother's ways and doings in the early time 
household; and, later, the excellent though 
primitive ways of grandmother were traditions 
of the family, and prized memories. There was 
little of parlor in those days; the library was 
scant; but the kitchen and diniug-room, usually 
one, were fully developed ; and, with the resour- 
ces and utensils of the period, the family table 



204: PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

was maintained royally, and healthful and happy 
conditions were preserved. The isolated habita- 
tion, perhaps miles distant from any neighbor's, 
was the castle of the pioneer. It sometimes 
was beset with danger; and this when the wife 
and mother was the sole adult occupant and 
defender. The woman's part on the frontier 
was not easy, nor was it always secure; but it 
was as important as that of the man, and in the 
settlement, growth and prosperity of the new 
country had equal responsibility with his part ; 
and too much honor and respect cannot be paid 
the women of the pioneer time. 

County Buildings 

The first courts in Onondaga county were held 
at Onondaga in 1794. The county offices were 
divided between the Hill and the Valley. The 
lock of the first clerk's office at the Valley 
hangs up in the present clerk's office, and locally 
it has always had much interest. It is a relic 
of the past like the key to the French bastile. 
The first court house was at the Hill, and near 
it was the county iail. Later the County Clerk's 
office was added to the group. These buildings 
occupied the triangle formed by the two north 
roads out of the village. It now is owned by 
several adjoining property owners, is a vacant 
field, and is cultivated. No vestage of its former 
importance attaches to the plot. 



COUNTY clerk's OFFICE 205 

In 1829, after a severe contention, the county 
seat was removed to Syracuse, under an act of 
the Legislature, and by vote of the Board of 
Supervisors a court house and jail were built 
midway between the village of Salina and Syra- 
cuse, on the corner of Salina and Ash streets, 
which were burned in 1856, and the next year 
the present court house was built in Clinton 
square. It was at the time a commodious and 
suitable structure, built of Onondaga limestone, 
but it has survived its day, and the construction 
of a successor that will better serve its purposes 
is being agitated. The County Clerk's office, 
at the Valley till 1813, was succeeded by a small 
office at the Hill, which was occupied till 1829, 
when the office was removed to Syracuse, being 
lodged in a small building at the corner of North 
Sahna and Church streets till 1853, when a more 
commodious structure was built, and this was 
used till 1880, when the present building was 
provided at the corner of Willow and Clinton 
streets. 

The County jail was merged in the Peniten- 
tiary in 1850, and the County penitentiary, 
begun in that year, was subsequently enlarged 
at various times from 1859 to 1879. The institu- 
tion was under a board of inspectors, and a 
superintendent. In 1898 the Penitentiary site 
was sold and a new penitentiary ordered, which 




ONONDAGA COUNTY POOR HOUSE 



COUNTY POOR HOUSE 207 

is to be located near Jamesville in the town of 
DeWitt. 

The County Poor house was the result of an 
agitation for that institution begun in 1825, and 
the site was located in the town of Onondaga 
in 1827. The building then erected continued 
in use till 1800, when the insane asylum was 
added, an addition and water supply were con- 
structed in 1866 and there was further extension 
in 1867 and 1872, with other improvements in 
1879. Discontinuance of insane care, on its being 
assumed by the state, has provided the room for 
later demands. A county farm is connected 
with the poor buildings. 

Early Steamboats 

On Skaneateles lake were made the pioneer 
attempts to introduce steam navigation on the 
waters of the county. The Independence, in 
1831, was not a success, nor was the Highland 
Chief a little later. The Skaneateles (1818), 
Homer (1849), Ben. H. Porter (1866) and the 
Glen Haven each has served a career of use- 
fulness. 

The first steamboat ever used upon the Erie 
canal was built in 1823 by William Avery at 
Buelville in the town of Pompey. 

The steam commerce of the canals has steadily 
increased and now is a considerable item in the 
daily business of Syracuse with places along the 



208 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

canals in the vicinity. The steamboat interests 
were, until recently, small on the lakes and 
rivers of the county. Pleasure craft are now 
numerous. 

Primitive Street Names 

In the pioneer times, when Syracuse was a 
part of the town of Maulius and had no distinct- 
ive name and no inhabitants, and the whole 
territory was the haunt of wild beasts, a 
gloomy impenetrable swamp occupied the site 
of the present prosperous city and it was the 
home of bears, wolves, wildcats, deer and rat- 
tlesnakes. The western portion of ihe valley 
about Syracuse was timbered with hemlock, 
birch, and soft maple ; the eastern portion with 
cedar and pine. From the frequency of wild 
animals the early-travelled routes were called 
bear and wolf paths, and when the settlements 
began, the first opened streets were Wolf and 
Bear, etc. Some very romantic stories are told 
of adventures with wild animals. In the early 
thirties a fine specimen of bear was captured in 
what is now South Salina street, near where 
Star park is located, and the late Charles Leon- 
ard told of a fine deer running down Genesee 
street, and, being affrighted, jumped through a 
store window where the Larned block stands 
and landed in a group of men sitting there, of 
which Mr. Leonard was one. 



A WILD COUNTRY 209 

Deer were plentiful in all parts of the county. 
Levi Clark of Elbridge told that prior to 1 800 
he often saw deer by the hundreds within sight 
of his house near the present Half- Way, and 
that he shot scores of bears and wolves in that 
vicinity. 

Early settlers at Pompey told of the many 
bears and wolves they encounte^-ed in the neigh- 
borhood of their primitive dwellings. 

In the early trails from Brewerton to the 
Onondaga villages, by way of the lake shore, 
wild animals were met in droves and poisonous 
snakes were only avoided with great care. It 
was anything but a pleasant country to travel 
through in those times. Game and fish were 
superabundant. 

An Inhospitable Region 

The country round about Onondaga lake was 
accounted most unhealthy, and from its early 
settlement till well into this century it was the 
region most avoided by the settlers. The at- 
traction of the salt business brought people to 
it, and led to the taking of measures to neutral- 
ize the unwholesome influences. The lowering 
of Onondaga lake and the draining of the Seneca 
river marshes, under plans prosecuted by For- 
man and Geddes, were the correction of these 
evils and led to the establishing of more health- 
ful conditions. The filling of the old mill-pond 



210 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

in Syracuse and the straightening and opening 
of Onondaga creek were very helpful measures, 
and these and other sanitary steps have made 
Syracuse a healthy place. » 

In the early years of this century the opening 
of hot weather brought fevers into Salina and 
Syracuse, which multiplied so rapidly that often- 
times there were scarcely a sufficient number of 
well persons to take care of the sick, and it 
seemed that man and beast alike were attacked 
by the same malarial causes. Many of the early 
settlers died during the sickly seasons, and cat- 
tle and horses were alike victims of the deadly 
scourge. There were but thirty persons in Salt 
Point, all told, in 1793, the year before Onon- 
daga county was organized, and all were sick at 
the same time, excepting an Irishman, Patrick 
Riley, who carried on Van Vleck's salt works, 
drawing the wood for the fires at night, boiling 
salt all day and half the night, and every alternate 
night watching with the sick, and keeping this 
up for two months. Doctor Holland of James- 
ville, who was probably the first physician in 
the county, came over to Salt Point every day to 
visit the sick and give them attendance. Four 
years later, in 1T97, Doctor Burnet took up his 
residence in Salina, and is recorded as the first 
resident physician. It is related that the Indi- 
ans were attentive and kind to the pale faces in 



EARLY INCONVENIENCIES 211 

their sickness, and they furnished the settlers 
with venison and fish until they were able to 
provide for themselves. 

Before the Horses 

There was a period in the pioneer time when 
horses and wagons were unknown in the Onon- 
daga country. Up to about 1800 there were no 
horse wagons anywhere in this region. Much 
of the transportation of articles of food was 
done on men's backs, and Indians were much 
employed as carriers, making trips from as far 
as Albany to supply the settlers with flour and 
meal and other necessaries. Ox teams were 
used for transportation in the winter season. 
Materials for the construction of saw and grist 
mills were thus provided, and also much of the 
supplies for other building purposes. Wagons 
were rare until about 1820. 

Home-Spun Clothing- 

The main reliance for clothing was in the 
spinning wheel and domestic loom. This was 
a matter of necessity in the earlier years. At 
the close of the war of the Revolution there was 
a general movement throughout the country in 
opposition to imported fabrics, and a popular 
demand for reliance upon home products for all 
material used in clothing. The patriotic people 
in the large cities led off in this demand for the 
promotion of American interests in production 



212 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and in trade. It was a rage in New York, Bos- 
ton and Philadelphia, which rapidly spread 
throughout 'the interior. The fever raged fierce- 
ly in the Onondaga country, where were settled 
many families of revolutionary soldiers. The 
fabrics thus insisted upon were at first rough and 
uncouth in large degree, but soon the products 
of the home manufactories were brought to a 
fair degree of perfection, and the home-made 
garments were quite passable. The mark of 
disloyalty was the wearing of imported goods. 
Few people disregarded the popular mandate, 
and those who did were branded as Tories. 



©IXTEENTH F=AF=EF=? 

The Origin of tlie City 

The origin of Syracuse was in the trading 
post estabhshed in 1786 by Ephraim Webster 
near the mouth of Onondaga creek, which then 
was at the high grounds just below the present 
High school site, probably near the state pump- 
house. He kept a small stock of goods for ex- 
change for furs with the Indians. In 1788, 
Webster joined Asa Danforth in the settlement 
at Onondaga Valley, keeping up his Indian 
trade, but taking up his home with the Onon- 
dagas. He later put the trading post in the 
charge of Benjamin Neukirk, who died at the 
place in 1793, his being the first death of a white 
person in the Onondaga country. 

The Early Indian Tillage 

A considerable Indian village sprung up on 
Onondaga creek above the trading post, the cab- 
ins ranging along the west bank for a mile or 
more. An extensive Indian burial place was 
located on the creek's west bank. In construct- 
ing the canal many human skeletons were un- 
earthed, and to the present time occasional skele- 
tons are found. Brass kettles, tomahawks and 

(213) 



214 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

domestic utensils are frequently brought to light 
in these burial places. The growth of trees 
standing in these spots indicates that some of 
the burials took place at least 200 years ago. 
Leaden bullets are among the articles recovered, 
and these and other relics connect the burials 
with the time of the French colonies established 
in 1656. 

The Future City's Site Indicated 

The site of Syracuse was indicated in 1804, 
when under an act of the Legislature the sale of 
250 acres of land on the Onondaga salt springs 
reservation was made, for the providing of 
money for the laying out of a public road from 
Manlius to Onondaga, through the reservation. 
James Geddes made the survey and ran the lines 
in an irregular way for the purpose of including 
as much dry land as was possible, to avoid the 
swamp that stretched over nearly all the terri- 
tory of the future city. It was not feasible to 
locate the tract all upon upland. Surveyor- 
General Simeon DeWitt supervised the survey 
and sale. It was Mr. Geddes's experience in 
this transaction which led him to engage in the 
later surveys of the Erie canal, which indicated 
the route adopted by the state in carrying out 
that enterprise. A question being raised as to 
the water power included in the advertised tract, 
DeWitt and Geddes took measurements, which 



Walton's purchase 215 

showed that it was a more extensive power than 
had been supposed to exist at this point. 

The Walton Tract 

The sale was made in June, ISO-t, and the 
purchaser was Abraham Walton of Albany, 
who bid off the 250 acres for $6,550, about 
$26.20 an acre. The plot was thenceforth 
known as the Walton Tract, which embraced 
what now is the business center of the city of 
Syracuse. It was an irregular tract of land, 
extending from a line a little west and parallel 
to the Onondaga creek, (the northwest corner 
being in the Allen Monroe place in West Genesee 
street), running thence southerly to near the line 
of Jefferson street, thence easterly across the 
old mill pond to Salina street, thence southerly 
through the middle of Salina street to Adams 
street, thence east to midway of Grape and 
Orange streets, thence irregularly to Irving 
street, thence northerly to near Genesee street, 
to Lock street, through that street to James 
street, and at the corner of Lock, thence west- 
erly to the place of beginning. It was nearly 
all forest land at that time; the Seneca turn- 
pike, Salina street, Onondaga street, and the 
Erie canal being the thoroughfares later laid 
out. The turnpike was the first and the other 
streets were at the time' merely paths through 
the woods and swamp. The names of streets 



N 



W- 




ol_d Red 
Fi_ouR Mii_L 




WOODE'M 

Bridoe 



V\/, Genesee St 




Parsons 

Tannery ^^^^ Canal 
Aqueduct 



u 
y 

h 
0) 

u 

a 
< 

J 
J 

I 



MAP SHOWING THE OLD RED MILL AND SURROUNDINGS 



FIRST DAYS OF SYRACUSE 217 

were after a primitive order, Genesee and Salina 
streets being nearly the only ones that still retain 
the original designations. The turnpike through 
what is now Syracuse was a corduroy road, 100 
feet wide. 

The Beginuing of the Place 

Besides the stipulation that the money derived 
from the land sale should be applied to the lay- 
ing out of a road, it was also provided that the 
purchaser should within a specified time erect, 
or cause to be erected, a suitable building for a 
tavern or house of entertainment for the accom- 
modation of travellers. The tavern site was 
sold to Henry Bogardus for 1300 ; a half -acre of 
land located where the Mansion house stood, 
and where the Empire house now stands. In 
1806 Bogardus erected a 2-story building, 35 by 
45 feet, which was called the South Salina hotel, 
the embryo village having been informally named 
South Salina. A small frame dwelling was 
erected the same year by a Mr. Merrill on the 
lot opposite, east of the hotel, in Cooper (later 
North Salina) street, (where Peter Waggoner's 
stood later, and the Third National bank now is 
located); but there was so much sickness in the 
locality that the next season he pulled it down 
and carried the material to another location. 
There were, however, several log cabins in the 
near vicinity of the Bogardus hotel. Prior to 



218 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

1800, Clark Dames the families of Hopkins (1797) 
and Butler (1799) as residents there. They were 
settled around a spring of fresh water near the 
site, west, of the present Oswego canal bridge 
in Salina street. 

Other Early Settlers 

In a small log house built by Calvin Jackson 
on the turnpike, near where the Jervis House 
now stands, in 1800, his son, Albion Jackson, 
was born on December 28th of that year — the 
first white child born within the limits of the 
later village of Syracuse. In the ensuing five 
years there were straggling settlers; Amos 
Stanton, whose son was Rufus Stanton, and the 
latter' s daughter, Mrs, Charles Keene, located 
near the Oswego canal bridge, and father and 
son were hotel-keepers and farmers, and Rufus 
Stanton raised a crop of rye on the site of the 
old Syracuse house (now the location of the 
Onondaga County Savings bank) in 1816. Other 
early settlers were William Lee and Aaron Cole, 
who opened a blacksmith shop in 1805; Mr. 
Blake, who made a clearing and began farming 
midway between the two Salinas ; Doctor Swan, 
who put up a small frame house in 1807, and 
Jonathan Fay, who settled near the old Court 
house in 1808. 

The Old Red Mill 

The old red mill was built for Mr. Walton by 



EARLY INDUSTRIES 219 

James Sayles in 1805. This was the utihzing of 
the water power sold with the Walton Tract ; 
the first dam was built on the Seneca turnpike 
where it crossed the creek, the road at the time 
passing over it. This dam was swept away by 
a freshet within a year, and another was built a 
little way up the stream, where Water street 
crosses it, which stood till, in 1819, it was re- 
moved for the lowering of the mill pond, which 
extended up the creek to near Onondaga street, 
for the abatement of the agues and fevers which 
it was beheved to promote. The old red mill, 
which stood wholly in what is now Genesee 
street (the only correct picture of which is given 
in the accompanying illustration), was in use 
till the removal of the mill pond in 1819, when 
the mill and the old wooden bridge over the 
creek at Genesee street were demolished; the 
mill giving way to the widening of the street, 
and a new stone bridge being constructed over 
the creek. An early miller was Henry Young, 
and the last miller was Thomas Bennett. 

Industrial Interests 

Adjacent to the red mill were several indus- 
trial concerns which had iinportant relations 
to the early settlement. Mr. Walton, the year 
after building the grist mill, constructed on the 
same side of the creek, but on the southerly 
side of Genesee street, a saw mill, and later for 




THE OLD RED MILL 



LOCATION OF THE PLACE 221 

many years it was operated by Frederick Hor- 
ner, (the last survivor of that time), v^ho re- 
cently died at an advanced age. Rufus Parsons 
built a linseed oil factory, v^hich later was 
converted into an ax factory and was operated 
by Henry Olds. Veneer mills also were run 
there. A tannery, built and operated by Rufus 
Parsons, was in the same locality. Captain 
Parsons lived across the way in Mechanic street. 
(The accompanying sketch shows the relative 
locations of these early industries here in the 
opening years of the century.) 

The Purpose of the Promoters 

The purpose of Mr. Walton to establish a vil- 
lage, on a large real estate speculation, and to 
make the red mill the nucleus and center of it, 
was pushed with some success ; but these things 
seldom take the direction the promoters under- 
take to give them, and the business center of 
the village, and later of the city, located itself 
elsewhere under the superior influence of the 
canal and the railroad. But in the early days of 
the village the old mill and its surroundings had 
great attractions. The mill itself, with its big 
wheel, generous hoppers of grain and whirling 
mill stones, was the favorite resort of the school 
boys; the flume, where the boys disported them- 
selves on the floating logs, was also attractive; 



HOW THE CITY WAS NAMED 223 

and the immersion place of the Baptists in the 
creek, then free from sewerage, where minister 
and converts walked down the inclined path- 
way to the water, in the narrow space between 
the bridge and the mill, while the congregation 
stood upon the bridge or the opposite bank, 
watching the proceedings, was a point of much 
interest in the community on Sunday afternoons. 

Frequent Changes in Names 

Early Syracuse had a varied nomenclature. 
First it was known as Webster's camp or Webs- 
ter's Landing; Bogardus Corners, from 1796 to 
1809; Milan, in 1809; South Salina till 1812; 
Cossit's Corners, 1814 to 1817; Corinth till 
1824; named Syracuse in 1824 by John Wilkin- 
son, who fancied he traced similarities in the new 
place with the ancient Syracuse in the island of 
Sicily ; incorporated as the village of Syracuse, 
in the town of Salina, April 13th, 1825; and 
made a city December 14:th, 1847. When chris- 
tened Corinth, a new survey of the Walton 
tract being made, and a formal laying out of 
the village taking place, there being an inability 
to secure a postoffice under the name, it was 
relinquished and the name Syracuse was taken. 
Corinth occupied a limited territory; its extent 
being from the old red mill to the Grand canal, 
embracing Genesee street. Church and Salina 
streets on the north side, with Water and Salina 



224 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

streets, and Clinton street to Fayette street, as 
far east as Warren street on the south side. 

This was the original Syracuse, which name 
was taken at the village's incorporation in 1825, 
and in this period of a quarter of a century, 
covering the pioneer time, the village bounds in- 
cluded a limited settled territory. Jt was a 
small clearing, surrounded by a pine grove inter- 
spersed with oak undergrowth. A horse past- 
ure of twenty acres was on the site of the later 
Syracuse house, and the bars of this pasture 
opened on what then was the Salina road. Be- 
sides the Bogardus hotel there were but two 
frame dwellings in the settlement. The major 
part of the population from 1815 to 1820, were 
laborers on the canal, who lived in log cabins 
and slab huts. ' 

Changes in Ownership 

The Walton Tract, after some unimportant 
changes, came into possession of Forman, Wil- 
son & Company in ISl-t, at a cost of about 
$9,000; then, in 1818, into the hands of Daniel 
Kellogg and William H. Sabine, who in 1823 sold 
it to Henry Eckf ord of New York ; and then, in 
May, 1824:, the Syracuse company, consisting of 
William James, Isaiah and John Townsend and 
James McBride of Albany purchased it for 
130,000. Moses D. Burnet and Gideon Hawley 
took its management under a trust deed, and 



THE MILLER'S HOUSE 



225 



began extensive sales of village lots. Joshua 
Forman, Owen Forman, Moses D. Burnet, John 
Wilkinson, and James G. Tracy were succes- 
sively agents for these lands. 

The Oldest Structure 
The miller's house, a small 1 -story frame 
structure, was built by Mr. Walton for the man 
in charge of his mill, in 1806. The building 




TlIK MILLER'S HOUSE, 1806 

was put together with wooden pegs, not a metal 
nail being used in its construction. It is now 
the oldest building in Syracuse. Some years ago 
a second story, mansard roof, was added, but 
the first story was not changed. The house 
stands on the second lot east of Wallace street, 
in West Genesee street. An illustration is here- 
with given of " The Miller's House." 
Cheney's Recollections 
Timothy C. Cheney, in his recollections of 
early Syracuse, describes the old red mill; men- 



226 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

tions the grist and saw mills, the oil mill and 
tannery near it; states that pine lumber sold 
at the mill for $4 a thousand and hemlock for 
$11.50; and mentions that the village green was 
located on the point where Grenesee and Church 
streets came together, where later the Baptist 
church and still later the Universalist church 
were built. 

"The Corners*' 

The place was then known as " the Corners," 
and Mr. Cheney relates that one morning, in 
crossing " the green," the thought came across 
his mind that he might live to see the time when 
" the Corners " would become a large and flour- 
ishing place, and that when that time came it 
would be pleasant to look back and be able to 
tell how many houses there were then. A year 
before Syracuse village was incorporated he 
counted the houses, all being within view from 
" the green," and there were twenty-three, 
with six or seven in course of construction. 
Mr, Cheney recollects his feelings as he contem- 
plated the old red mill, always a favorite place 
of resort ; his sensation of awe and wonder as 
he watched the great wooden waterwheel turn 
and turn, with uniform motion, as if striving 
to get rid of the heavy weight of water falling 
upon its time-worn frame from the moss-covered 
flume; curiously watching the tin boxes of the 



Cheney's recollections 227 

elevator as they wound rapidly upward, bearing 
their burdens of grain or flour; listening to the 
ceaseless bur-r-r of the millstones and the clatter 
of the hopper as it supplied the greedy mill; 
the great bolter doing its part ; the wooden spout 
from which issued the great dusty stream of 
brand or shorts ; the huge box into which was 
emptied the farmers' bags of grain to be weighed 
and then let down into the big bin below, whence 
it was later turned into the great mill. His de- 
scription of the abandoned mill and his visits to 
its deserted walls, which seemed haunted with 
scenes of the past, and of the old wooden bridge 
across the creek, from which was witnessed the 
ceremony of baptism, is an old man's impressive 
story of bright days of his youth. 

A Fair Start Gained 

Migration to the new village was slow. The 
promise of the salt manufacture was its incen- 
tive; but it was not till the opening of the Erie 
canal, the construction of which began in 1817 
and was completed in 1825, that the new Syra- 
cuse began to grow and prosper. Better sani- 
tary conditions were introduced, the commercial 
importance of the place increased, and Syracuse 
got recognition and a fair start in its career of 
prosperity. 



Forman Moves to Syracuse 

The Walton Tract, which passed into the own- 
ership of Daniel Kellogg and William H. Sabine 
in 1818, was placed in charge of Joshua Forman, 
as their agent, and in the spring of 1819 he 
moved from Onondaga Valley and located in 
what was to become Syracuse, with which place 
his name was to be identified as its founder and 
promoter, Mr. Forman lived at the Valley from 
1800, when he began the practice of law with his 
brother-in-law, William H. Sabine, and thence- 
forward was one of the most public-spirited citi- 
zens. He was the moving spirit in establishing 
the academy, church, hotel, mill and several 
stores at the Valley. He was in 1807 elected 
to the State Legislature on the " Canal ticket," 
and it was his resolution that the Legislature 
adopted which provided for the survey to be 
made of " the most eligible and direct route for 
a canal to open communication between the tide- 
waters of the Hudson and Lake Erie. ' ' He had 
thoroughly studied the canal systems of the 
world, and prepared an estimate of the work of 
building the Grand canal (as the Erie originally 

(228) 



forman's good judgment 229 

was called) and labored unceasingly to gain con- 
verts to the scheme. He was ridiculed as a 
" visionary projector," and in response declared 
that he expected to see the enterprise under- 
taken and completed if he lived to the ordinary 
age of men. This he did and his name went 
into history as a foremost promoter of one of 
the grandest improvements of the age. 
Salt, Canal and Syracuse 
The construction of the canal began in 1817, 
and in that year the active work was in progress 
in Syracuse and vicinity. Mr. Forman had at- 
tempted to secure the canal's route for the bene- 
fit of the Valley, but this was found not to be 
expedient, and so he came to the canal at its 
nearest point of contact with the promising salt 
manufacture, and to these two interests, the 
salt springs and the canal, Syracuse owed its 
settlement, growth, and commercial importance. 
Mr. Forman had the prescience to foresee that 
a considerable city would be located at this 
point. He did a large service in securing legis- 
lation, under which Onondaga lake was lowered 
about two feet, and the canals extended into the 
salt manufacturing district. 

Formau's Confidence 

In 1820 William M. Stone, a New York jour- 
nalist, visited the place with Mr. Forman, on a 
canal investigating tour. He wrote an account 



230 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of his visit, in which he said that he stayed 
over night in a miserable hotel which was 
thronged with salt-boilers, a group of about as 
rough-looking specimens of humanity as he ever 
had seen. " It was in October, and a flurry of 
snow during the night rendered the morning 
aspect of the country more dreary than the eve- 
ning before. The few houses standing upon 
low, marshy ground and surrounded by trees 
and entangled thickets, presented a very unin- 
viting scene." 

" Mr. Forman," said Mr. Stone, " do you call 
this a village ? It would make an owl weep to 
fly over it." 

"Never mind," said Mr. Forman in reply, 
*' you will live to see it a city yet." Both gen- 
tlemen lived to see Mr. Forman 's confidence 
fully realized. 

Form ail's Career 

Judge Forman, the pioneer and founder, was 
a native of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess county, 
N. Y. ; he was a graduate of Union college, and 
became a successful lawyer and a man of affairs; 
he was a Member of Assembly, and first Judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas of Onondaga 
county. He was author of the safety fund act 
which relieved the state of New York of finan- 
cial difficulties in 1 826. Owing to failing health, 
he removed to North Carolina in 1827, and en- 



CHOICE OF A NAME 231 

gaged in real estate speculation. In 1831 he was 
the recipient of a silver-plate testimonial from 
prominent citizens of Syracuse. He was here 
again on a visit in 1846, and was given a compli- 
mentary banquet, at which he was toasted as 
*'■ the founder of Syracuse." He died at his 
North Carolina home in 181:9. 

Talue of a Plum Tree 

The Walton Tract was resurveyed in the spring 
of 1819; the former survey for Mr. Walton be- 
ing discarded because of incorrectness. But for 
a certain wild plum tree mentioned in Geddes's 
survey, Clark says it is doubtful whether the 
original lines could have been identified. The 
village was laid out into lots and the adjacent 
lands were plotted into farm lots of five or ten 
acres. 

How Syracuse was Named 

It was Mr. Forman's suggestion that the place 
be named Corinth. But as there already was a 
Corinth postoffice, it was necessary to find an- 
other name, and for several years the designation 
was Cossit's Corners. This was while Sterling 
Cossit kept the tavern. When the village incor- 
poration was first agitated in 1820 it received the 
name of Syracuse. The suggestion of the name 
was by John Wilkinson, who fancied a strong 
similarity in the surroundings of this place with 
the ancient Syracuse. 



232 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Gen. W. H. Moseley, in " The Syracusan " of 
October, 1850, tells how the name was con- 
ferred. The subject was taken up after an eve- 
ning religious meeting at the house of Judge 
Forman, when it was resolved to drop Corinth 
and give the place a permanent and enduring 
name. At an adjourned meeting held at Cossit's 
tavern, the names proposed were Algiers, Bar- 
bara, Wales, etc., when at last sober considera- 
tion came back to Syracuse, which was finally 
agreed upon. Thirteen persons were present, 
namely Joshua Forman, Daniel Case, Eufus 
Stanton, Henry Young, Sterling Cossit, John 
Wilkinson, Eufus Parsons, John B. Creed, Fred- 
erick Rhyne, Peter Wales, Robert Hamilton, 
0. C. Congdon and William H. Moseley. The 
postoffice was named Syracuse, and John Wil- 
kinson was the first postmaster. The story is 
that Mr. Wilkinson brought the first mail for 
the new office from Onondaga Hill in his hat. 

Map of Syracuse in 1820 

A map of the Syracuse of January 1st, 1820, 
is reproduced herewith from the original pub- 
lication in Moseley 's " Syracusan," and except- 
ing as to relative positions and distances it is 
well verified. Onondaga creek should be shown 
on the left, crossing Genesee street, at the red 
mill ; Church street, running from about N to 
(letters on the map); K, the site of the old 



THE MOSELEY MAP 



233 



school-house, being midway of the street's length. 
Peter Wales's house (I) and Eufus Stanton's 
house (H) were on opposite sides of Salina 
street, and later the Oswego canal cut be- 



A. Tavern, where Em- 
pire house now stands. 

B. Old red mill, 1805- 
1849. 

C. Moseley's store. 

D. Daniel Case's dwell- 
ing. 

E. Joshua F r m a n ' s 
dwelling. 

F. Cap't Parson's dwell- 
ing. 

G. Old saw mill. 
H. R u f u s Stanton's 

dwelling. 

I. Peter Wales's dwell- 
ing. 

J. F. Rhyne's Eagle 
hotel. 

K. Old school house. 

L. Bars to horse pas- 
ture on Syracuse House 
site. 

M. Erie canal. 

N. Onondaga road, Salina street. 

O. Genesee street. 




MAP OF SYRACUSE, MOSELEY'S, 
JANUARY 1ST, 1820 



P. 



Water street. 
Onondaga creek. 



tween them. The Bogardus tavern (A) be- 
came the rear annex of the Mansion house 
when that hotel was rebuilt in 1823, and came 
under the management of 0. H. Williston, who 
kept it till 1831. Subsequently it made way for 



234: PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

the Voorhees house, which later became the 
Empire house. 

The Moseley map is valuable and interesting 
as showing what original Syracuse was. The 
extent of the occupied territory is outlined and 
the locations of the two taverns and the red 
mill, the saw mill and the school-house, which 
were designed to be the village's business center, 
and of the one store and five dwelling houses, 
are shown. The Erie canal was that year opened 
and divided the hamlet, with but one store and 
two dwellings on the south side. When the 
village of Syracuse was incorporated, five years 
after the map was made, there were about 250 
inhabitants in the place, and thenceforward the 
village had a rapid growth. 

Clinton Square 

There is no reference to Clinton Square, which 
evidently was formed a little later. It was con- 
stituted by the running through the place of the 
Erie canal, with Genesee street crossing it diago- 
nally. Water street on the south side and Dock 
street, later Foot street, and finally James street, 
coming in at the Mansion house from the east, 
thus giving the bounds to the square. The 
name was suggested by Judge Forman and 
readily accepted. The canal during its con- 
struction was commonly called Clinton's ditch. 



FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE IN SYRACUSE 235 

First Syracuse School-House 

Among the first enterprises of Joshua For- 
man, the founder, was the establishment of a 
school-house. The first school-house was located 
in the intended center of the new village, on an 
eligible site, a slight elevation or knoll, midway 
between the first tavern and the first mill, on the 
northerly side of Church street, at what since has 
been the corner of Church and Frankhn streets, 
the latter a mere lane leading to the salt field be- 
yond it. The first church, the First Baptist, was 
located in Genesee street, nearly opposite the 
school-house. The modest little building was the 
scene of much of Syracuse's early history. Not 
only was it the place of the first school, but within 
its walls were organized the first village govern- 
ment, the first churches (the First Baptist, Epis- 
copalian, Presbyterian and Methodist) and there 
were held the town meetings, etc. Its seating 
capacity was about sixty persons. 

The exact date of the building of the school - 
house is not recorded; but it is well attested that 
it was in 1819 or 1820. Judge Forman was the 
mover in the enterprise, but the architect and 
builder are not known. The cost of the struc- 
ture may have been 1350. It was a square build- 
ing, about 22 feet on each side, with 10 -foot 
posts, and an inverted hopper-shaped roof, slant- 
ing four ways. The foundation was simple, and 




THE FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE IN SYRACUSE 



THE SCHOOL-HOUSE INTERIOR 237 

was buttressed by an embankment of tanbark, 
after the style of the time. It was clapboarded 
and shingled, but without cornices or eves or 
adornment. It never was painted. On the 
south front. Church street, was the one door, 
midway between two windows, the glazing of 
which was of common glass, 7 by 9 panes. The 
door was paneled, and had a heavy latch, with 
an iron-bow handle. A large stone was the plat- 
form to the entrance. The single rooom had 
two windows on each side. . The teacher's desk 
was midway of the northerly side, and from its 
slightly elevated position he commanded the 
pupils, who occupied the two rows of desks and 
seats ranged around three sides of the room. 
The school furniture was cheap and plain; slant- 
ing desks and long benches of the cheapest con- 
struction, the largest children having the side 
walls to rest their backs against, and the younger 
ones having back rests against the fronts of the 
outside desks. The heating was by a large cast- 
iron box stove, fed with cord-wood, and the 
chimney was directly over the stove in the roof's 
peak. Of teachers in the old school Hiram A. 
Deming was probably the first. He was as early 
as 1821, and was succeeded by William K. Blair, 
Mr. Bement, Miss Thompson and others. But 
one is known to survive— Or villa Parker, wife 
of Nelson Gilbert, who was the son of Elder 



238 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Nelson J. Gilbert, the first pastor of the First- 
Baptist church. 

First Village Officers 

' ' The first meeting for the election of officers 
of the village of Syracuse," says the record, 
" was held in the old school-house in said vil- 
lage, May 3d, 1825, at which Joshua Forman, 
Amos P. Granger, Moses D. Burnet, Heman 
Walbridge and John Rogers were elected trus- 
tees. Joshua Forman was chosen first president 
of the village." John Wilkinson was chosen clerk, 
John Durnford treasurer, James Webb, Alfred 
Northam, Thomas Spencer assessors, Henry 
Young poundmaster, Henry W. Durnford, Jesse 
D. Rose constables, Henry Young, John Garrison 
overseers of highways. Daniel Gilbert was Justice 
of the Peace presiding. Most of these names 
became prominent in the subsequent history of 
the village and city. 

The old school-house gave place to public school 
No. 4:, in 1842, and here was organized the high 
school, with the Rev. Robert R. Raymond as its 
principal in 1855. " The brick school -house in 
Church street (old No. 1) I was familiar with," 
wrote Joseph A. Allen, one of the old-time 
teachers, to his friend, M. W. Hanchett, in 1896. 
" The high school was organized there, with Rev. 
Mr. Raymond as principal, and 1 often visited 
him there. In 1843, when teaching the Syra- 



THE OLD BUSINESS CENTER 239 

cuse academy, I was invited to attend a teach- 
ers' convention held in this building, and bring 
some of my pupils to sing. I took Andrew D. 
White, Ware Clary, Charles Wellington and 
others. They sang several pieces. White and 
Clary sang a duet, ' Two Orphans of Switzer- 
land. ' What fun it would be to hear them now. ' ^ 

Clinton Square, North Side, 1820 to 1826 

The appearance of the north side of Clinton 
Square, the business center of Syracuse from 
1820 to 1826, is preserved in the accompanying 
illustration by M, W. Hanchett, and also the 
record of the persons who were in business in 
that period when the locality was nearly all 
there was of the general business part of the 
village. The occupants of the entire village 
block at that time are indicated. 

The Marvin block, built by Asa Marvin, wa& 
the most pretentious brick structure in Onon- 
daga county. The Syracuse company owned the 
eastern end, and Mr. Marvin the remainder. All 
other structures on the block were wooden. The 
old buildings at the corner of Genesee and Clin- 
ton streets were removed for the building of the 
Court House in 1856. The others were displaced 
about the same time for the building of the Em- 
pire block by John H. Tomlinson and associates. 

The Mansion house was the enlarged Bogardus 
or Cossit tavern. It was practically rebuilt when 




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THE MANSION HOUSE 241 

O. H. Williston became its proprietor in 1823, 
being made a 3-story building by the addition of 
a hall for public occasions, which occupied the 
upper floor and was used for theaters, concerts 
and balls. It was fitted up with plank benches 
for theaters and concerts and these were removed 
for dancing parties. Later, from 1831, Robert 
J. Brockway, Philo N. Rust and others kept the 
house, till in 1843 it passed into the hands of 
James L. Voorhees and associates, wiio rebuilt 
it of brick and named it the Voorhees house, 
which w^as under the management of Harry Al- 
len, Barney Becker, Walter Herrick, Philo N. 
Rust, Barcut Filkins, Lucius W. Wright and 
Sprague & Gage, when Horace K. AVhite pur- 
chased the property and converted it into the 
Empire house. The oldest tavern site in Syra- 
cuse has been in many hands and in several 
forms. It is a central point in our local history, 
and has been the scene of many public occur- 
rences which have contributed to the historical 
annals of this city. 

From the earliest days of the old Mansion 
house it was a favorite gathering place for politi- 
cians and other public men. Political conven- 
tions were held in its hall, and the house was 
the headquarters of public men, and in the time 
of three days elections the Syracuse polls were 
held m its public room. The Salt Pointers made 



242 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

it a lively place on those occasions. On the first 
floor, the office was located in the corner, then 
two windows indicated the sitting room, and 
the two others lighted the dining room. The 
broad piazzas commanded an outlook over most 
of the little town. The Mansion house corner 
was the place of arrival and departure of the 
stage coaches in the days before the caual pack- 
ets and railroad trains. It was a busy place at 
least twice a day, when passengers and mails 
came and went, and the people there gathered 
heard all the news of the day. The stage coaches 
came in with a rush and a whew, and indeed it 
was an event for the quiet little place. 

The Original Canal Bridge 

The original stone bridge over the Erie canal 
at Salina street, full in view from the Mansion 
house, was an architectural success. It was a 
single arch, with imposing parapets at either 
side. This bridge was built of Ooondaga stone 
and cement and served to introduce that cement 
for building purposes. When by the widening 
of the canal the old bridge was removed for a 
longer one, it was found that the structure had 
been built on honor. It was a job to take it 
down, and giant powder was the agency by 
which the work of demolition was accomplished. 



Eic3HTE:E:r\i-rH f='af=er 
Slow Growth Under Temporary Names 

The growth of Syracuse under several tem- 
porary names, from 1805 till 1820, was slow. 
Moseley's map shows, in the latter year, two 
public taverns, grist and sawmills, a school- 
house, a store, a tannery and six dwelhngs. On 
its incorporation, five years later, as the village 
of Syracuse, the effects of promotion and settle- 
ment were considerably in evidence. The area 
of the village had somewhat extended, and to 
the original Genesee and Onondaga roads, Church 
and Water, Franklin and Mill, Clinton, Fayette, 
Warren, Dock (later Foot or James) streets were 
added and Salina and Genest-e streets extended. 
Salina, north of the canal, was originally Cooper 
street, from the manufacture of salt barrels, the 
principal industry in it, and the Onondaga road 
south of the canal. Dock street w^as so called 
from the canal dock, in which boats were built 
and repaired, where The Durston now stands. 
The Founder's Work 

Joshua Forman, who appeared as the agent for 
Kellogg & Sabine, the purchasers of the Walton 
Tract, was a partner in the business of selling; 

(5^43) 



244 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

village lots and promoting enterprises that would 
advance the new village, and he was the person 
w^ho more than all others influenced the growth 
and prosperity of the place. He laid out and 
extended streets, built dv^ellings and stores, 
procured state aid for the salt manufacture, and 
for lowering the waters of the lake and creek, 
induced people to come here, and inaugurated 
schemes for the health and advancement of the 
village. He believed in the future of Syracuse, 
and that the canal and salt would make it a 
large and prosperous city. No proposition that 
promised good to the place was without his co- 
operation and aid. He was broad-minded and 
sagacious ; and the same mind that foresaw the 
importance and value of the Erie canal and had 
the. force to inaugurate the survey that demon- 
strated its feasibility, recognized the possil)ilities 
and the probable future of Syracuse. Nothing 
w^as done that did not have Forman's sanction, 
and in church and school, in parks and high- 
ways, in dwellings and business places, his ex- 
cellent judgment was exercised to secure results 
that endure till this time. 

In the seven or eight years that Forman gave 
his best efforts to Syracuse, his management 
was active and energetic; the village grew 
rapidly; new business places and dwellings were 
built, and the fame of the new canal village, 



EARLY RESIDENCE DISTRICT 245 

enhanced by the increase of the salt manufac- 
ture, attested the prosperity gained and destined 
to be continued in the future city of the plains. 
The purpose of creating the business and resi- 
dence center in the vicinity of the old school- 
house, midway of the area of the original tav- 
ern and red mill, was not relinquished, but even 
at the village incorporation the tendency to cross 
the Erie canal and extend to the south and east 
was manifested. In that early time the resi- 
dence district w^as in West Genesee street, Church 
street, Franklin street and Mill (later Mechanic) 
street. But West Water street soon caught up, 
and from Clinton to Franklin street became the 
residence places of the well-to-do and prominent 
citizens. Into Chnton and South Salina, Warren 
and East Genesee streets the population ex- 
tended, and business and homes went there also. 
It was not, however, till the railroad was located 
through Washington street that the plan for 
making the old school-house the center of the 
place was broken. In locating the railroad the 
decision in favor of Washington street nearly 
caused a rebelhon by the business interests, 
which held that it should be in Water street, as 
Washington was by them considered too far 
to one side. A meeting of citizens expressed 
indignation at the action of the commissioners, 
John Wilkinson and Vivus W. Smith. 



246 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

This article will continue descriptions of promi- 
nent features of the original business and resi- 
dence parts of the early village. 

The Old Yellow Block 

One of the early business blocks was the old 
Yellow block, located on the site of the present 
Clinton block, at the north of Clinton street 
bridge, and facing Clinton and Genesee streets. 
An excellent picture of the building and of its 
next neighbor west, the old Eagle tavern, is 
herewith given, from the recollection of M. W. 
Hanchett. It was a 3-story brick building, 
erected in 1824 by Daniel Elliott, father of 
Charles L. Elliott, the artist, then a resident of 
Auburn, and the mason was Samuel Booth. 

Both these enterprising men had much to do 
with building up Syracuse. The block was a 
very plain structure, which was painted a dull 
yellow. 

The early occupants were Daniel Dana, gen- 
eral store, opened in 1825, and later D. & M. 
Dana, dealers in farm products, dry goods, etc. 
Grain was taken in on the canal tow-path and 
transferred to canal boats for the eastern mark- 
ets. Deacon Dana built a white brick dwelling, 
still standing, on the opposite side of Genesee 
street. 

The corner store, Genesee and Clinton streets, 
had several occupants, including H. W. Starin, 



A FAMOUS MUSEUM 247 

Mathew L. Davis and L. 0. Phinney. Mr. Starin 
was the model family store-keeper of his time. 
There was a succession of tenants on the Gene- 
see street side. 

Phiimey's Museum 

Lucas 0. Phinney was for years a grocer in 
the Yellow block. He also was the proprietor 
of the museum, which was the leading place of 
public entertainment in the village. After the 
fire of 18 34-, the first large conflagration in the 
village, which destroyed the original wooden 
structures on both sides of the Erie canal, from 
Salina to Warren street, Phinney bought Tiers's 
museum, which had quarters in the upper stories 
of the brick building on the site of the old 
Onondaga County Savings bank, and located it 
in the second and third stories of the Yellow 
block, and the museum and ' ' phantasmagora ' ' 
annex filled the Genesee street side of the build- 
ing. The rooms were quite handsomely fitted 
up, and, for some years, under the management 
of William Humes, an experienced showman, 
the museum was well patronized. 

This place of amusement was so prominent a 
feature of early Syracuse as to merit a brief 
description. It was the new development of 
means of popular entertainment, following after 
the travelling shows, of which Sickles's shows 
were the more famous. The entrance to the 



phinney's curiosities 249 

museum was, as shown in the picture, next to 
Phinney's store, up one flight, on the Chnton 
street side. On entering the first thing seen was 
a pipe-organ, run by crank power, about four 
feet square, set against the wall, and next to it 
stood a row of eight diminutive wax figures, in 
front of which was a row of tuned bells, which 
in unison with the organ were struck by ham- 
mers in the hands of the figures. This not 
altogether harmonious music invariably opened 
the performance. In high glass cases stationed 
around the sides of the large room were full- 
sized wax figures, representing Daniel Lambert, 
the biggest man that ever lived; the Sleeping- 
Beauty, Captain Lafitte, the pirate, Queen Eliza- 
beth, Mary Queen of Scots, General Marion, 
Lafayette, Washington and his generals, etc. 
Then a glass case of live snakes; another of 
stuffed snakes and small animals; an electric 
machine, whose shock was the diversion of the 
Onondaga Indians who frequented the place; a 
lot of old w^orld curiosities, and many other at- 
tractions. The " phantasmagora " was in an- 
other room, which also was a theater, concert 
and lecture hall. The descriptions w^ere given 
by Manager Humes, who was a glib talker with 
a vivid imagination. The " phantasmagora " 
was a large magic lantern, with illuminated fig- 
ures and views. This part of the show ended 



250 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

up with a realistic thunder and hghtniug storm, 
with sheet-iron thunder, " phantasm agora " 
hghtning and a box of beans rainfall. The 
apartments were lighted with tallow dips. 

The Yellow block later was J. Monroe Tay- 
lor's saleratus factory, which passed into Elisha 
Ford's management. The block was burned 
August i23d, 1859, when the Clinton block was 
erected and for many years has been occupied by 
the Salt company's offices. 

The Old Eagle Tavern 

Next west of the Yellow block was the Eagle 
tavern, kept by Frederick Rhyne, which was 
built soon after the Bogardus tavern. It was 
commodious and hospitable, a farmers' home of 
the time, bearing the familiar sign over the sta- 
ble entrance, " Drovers' Home," and it did a 
successful business. This tavern, improved, 
later was kept by William A. Robinson, and 
was burned in 1842. Mr. Robinson then built 
the Onondaga house, which was the pioneer 
temperance hotel. 

The Early Residence Quarter 

The residence district of the village was for 
ten years in narrow limits. It grew up and was 
intermixed with the business center. 

In Genesee street, west of the Eagle tavern, 
were dwellings built by Joshua Forman, which 
were occupied by Henry Newton, the village 



EARLY RESIDENCES 251 

auctioneer, Deacon Pliny Dickinson, the Eev. 
John W. Adams (still standing), Josiah Wright 
and Dr. George Hooker, the last at the corner 
of Genesee and Franklin streets, built by Henry 
Clifford, in 1827. The Hooker and the Malcolm 
houses, corner of Salina and Washington streets, 
were the handsomest dwellings in the village. 

Henry Gifford lived in the second house in 
Franklin street till he built the family residence 
at the corner of Genesee and West streets. At 
the north side of Franklin street bridge a small 
tavern was kept by William Hicks. Several 
small structures were located along the canal. 
John Dunn's blacksmith shop was in Mill street, 
and the residences of Rufus Parsons and the 
Foster family were also in that street. 

In Genesee street, at the corner of Franklin, 
lived Adonijah Root, and on the west. Dr. J. 
W. Hanchett, E. B. Wicks, David Stafford and 
A. L. Fellows. Frederick Horner, the miller, 
lived at the corner of Genesee and Mill streets. 
Mr. Horner long ran the old saw-mill. He 
prided himself on having seen and talked with 
President George Washington, who visited and 
inspected a new grain elevator in a mill in New 
Jersey. 

West of the Onondaga creek, into which 
locality the early settlements extended, was a 
.small, yellow house, on the Allen Munroe place. 



252 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

where Sterling Cossit lived after keeping the 
Bogardus hotel. John Wall occupied a dwell- 
ing, afterwards the home of George F. Com- 
stock, which was displaced for his more preten- 
tions residence. 

Henrj^ Young, the miller, built the house on 
the southeasterly corner of Genesee and West 
streets. His brother Andrew lived next door, 
in West street. Christopher Hyde, Mrs.. Marble 
and Mr. Patterson lived in the same street. 

The Joseph Savage residence was built ia 
1823, and Calvin Mitchell, a railroad contractor, 
lived there. 

These were all the residents west of the creek 
in 1823-5. 

North Side of Genesee Street 

Excepting the First Baptist church, at the 
corner of Genesee and Franklin street, (later the 
National theater, which was succeeded by the 
Universalist church), that side of the street from 
Clinton to the junction with Church street, was 
filled with a good class of residences. The 
Woodward brothers built a frame building, 
which was used as a hotel, opposite the Yellow 
block. It was burned about 1830. Daniel 
Dana's residence stood next, then Joel Cody's 
residence, with a famous flower garden; then 
Matthew L. Davis's residence in a fine locust 
grove; then the Slocum residence, where Mrs- 



A FASHIONABLE STREET 253 

Russell Sage spent her youth. It later was 
occupied by P. S. Stoddard, the bookseller. 

In the point where Church street runs into 
Genesee was a small yellow dwelling, which 
long was the home of Deacon A. L. Fellows. 

Church street became a fashionable residence 
street. The handsome brick residences of B. 
Davis Noxon, Grove Lawrence and Amos P. 
Granger gave high character to it. Other resi- 
dents were the Rev. Mr. Barlow of old St. 
Paul's, Alexander McKinstry, Barnet Filkins, 
Elijah Bicknell, the builder of the First Baptist 
church, and a Mr. Cook. Doctor Mayo's school, 
a celebrated boys' institution, was located in this 
street. Royal Stewart, Mr. Denslow and Mr. 
Rainsford lived back of the old Marvin block. 

Franklin and Mill streets were also desirable 
residence streets, and in Genesee street and its 
immediate vicinty were most of the good resi- 
dences in the first ten years of the village. 
First Methodist Church 

The First Methodist Episcopal church society 
was organized in the old school-house in Church 
street in 1821 or 1822, but did not have its own 
place of worship till 1825, when there was built 
for it a 1-story frame building, about 25 by -10 
feet, on the west side of North Sahna street, on 
the site of the present state's salt office. The 
little building (of which M. W. Hanchett fur- 




THE ORIGINAL FIRST M. E. CHURCH IX NORTH SALINA STREET, 1825 



FIRST METHODIST CHURCH 255 

nishes the accompanying sketch) stood on a 
slight knoll on the side of the little creek that 
ran from the weigh-lock, standing where The 
Durston is now located, into Onondaga creek 
and near the High school site. The pulpit was 
at the west end, an aisle of which ran through 
the middle, on one side of which sat the men and 
on the other side the women. ' ' Father ' ' Pease 
and Charles T. Hicks were the active men in this 
society, as they were among the promoters of the 
brick church of this denomination built in 1836 at 
the iutersection of Montgomery and Onondaga 
streets. The first church was occupied for about 
twelve years, during which the society grew in 
numbers and influence. The location of the little 
church is indicated on the village map of 1834. 
This religious society was one of the five organ- 
ized in the first little school-house. 

The >ortheast Quarter 

This part of Syracuse, including all the region 
north of the Erie canal east of the Oswego canal, 
was dense forest for several years after the vil- 
lage organization. The Syracuse company in 
1827 began to extend the village area in that 
direction. Dock or Foot street, which was near- 
ly impassable because of ravines and gullies, 
was improved, and new streets in its vicinity 
were opened, among them McBride and Town- 
send and Foot, renamed James, these names be- 



256 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ing those of members of the company, and Bur- 
nett and Hawley, which were named after 
agents of the company 

Major Moses D. Burnet buih a white frame 
dwelhng on top of the gravel knoll in James 
street, which later was lowered to the level of 
the street, and when Major Burnet built his 
brick residence, now the Century club's quar- 
ters, Capt. Robert Townsend and afterwards 
Rodman Reed occupied it. The house is still 
standing. The first lot sold in the present James 
street was by Major Burnet to E. W. Leaven- 
worth, in 1830, and upon it General Leaven- 
worth built his fine residence. 

The next ten years greatly developed all that 
section, which became one of the most beauti- 
ful parts of Syracuse. Prospect hill was cut 
down about forty feet and the earth used in fill- 
ing up the old mill pond in 1849, and was de- 
signed as the site for the state capitol, which 
w^as lost to Syracuse by the narrow margin of 
three votes in the Legislature. 

The beautiful grove to the south of James 
street, which contained the territory of Wayne, 
Green and other streets, was later laid out in 
building lots, and soon the expansion was over 
James street hill and into the east. Meanwhile 
the territory to the northward, connecting that 
part of Syracuse with original Salina, was rapid- 



ENERGETIC DEVELOPMENT 257 

ly populated and built over. In the thirties, 
and even later, dense Avoods covered all that 
locality. 

General Leavenworth wrote that in 1827 there 
were no open highways east of the Oswego 
canal or of Salina street north of the Erie canal 
bridge. It was all woodland, with barely now 
and then a foothpath through it, so that solitary 
pedestrians could make their way across town. 

Henry Blake's tavern, corner of Salina and 
Division streets, was long the only building be- 
tween the village of Salina and Syracuse. His 
place was known as the Center house, and some- 
times was called Halfway. 

Directly after the incorporation of the village 
of Syracuse, the village trustees exhibited great 
energy in the development of the place. Early 
in the first year, Salina, Warren, Clinton, Water 
Washington, Fayette and Church streets were 
formally named. The Seneca turnpike through 
the village was named Genesee street. Apple 
street was changed to West street. Canal 
(afterwards Pearl) street. Willow street and 
Lock street from Foot to Willow street also were 
opened. Clinton street was ordered opened from 
Water to Fayette street; that part of this street 
from Genesee street north continued an alley till 
the Court house was located on its present site. 
Much was done in clearing up and repairing the 



258 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

streets, many of which were corduroy roads 
through the swamps. 

"■ Kobbers' Row " was ordered worked four 
rods in width ; it was even then a busy trade 
center. The north side of the street was built 
up with small residences from Salina to Warren 
street. Gilbert Fitch, Thomas Spencer, S. W. 
Cadwell and Paschal Thurber were the residents. 
On the Salina street side of the block lived Dr. 
D. S. Colvin and James Sackett ; Gen. Thaddeus 
M. Wood and his son-in-law, Charles A. Baker, 
had law offices at the corner of James and Salina 
streets in 182T, and John F. Wyman's printing 
office was above the law offices. 

The Orig-iiial Firemen 

An early act of the first board of trustees was 
to order a hand fire engine and in the fall of 
1825 the engine was received, a fire company of 
thirty-five members was organized with Thomas 
B. Heermans as its captain, and temporarily the 
apparatus was stored in a little building adjacent 
to the burial ground in Franklin street. A suit- 
able house was then erected in Clinton square, at 
the north side of Clinton street canal bridge. 
(See its site in the picture of old Yellow block). 
This was the origin of the Syracuse Fire depart- 
ment, in whose volunteer force the most active 
and prominent citizens were enlisted. A little 
later a second fire engine house, the duplicate of 



EARLY FIRE PROTECTION 259 

the first, was built on the south side of the CUn- 
ton street bridge, an engine procured, and com- 
pany organized. These two fire companies, oc- 
cupying houses separated only by the width of 
the canal, served in generous rivalry in the early 
years of the village. 



IMINETEENTH F=AF=ER 

Opening of the Canal 

The strongest of the impulses to early Syra- 
cuse was the opening of the Grand (Erie) canal, 
middle section, on April 21st, 1820. The ground 
was broken for the canal at Eome on July 4th, 
1817, and the work was prosecuted at the same 
time eastward and westward of that place. The 
middle section was first available. A trial of the 
canal system, whose success was doubted by 
many, took place on the trip of the canal boat 
" Montezuma," which Judge Forman had con- 
structed from a model devised by Comfort Tyler. 
It was built at Montezuma, the western point 
on the middle section, and then made the trial 
trip through Syracuse to Utica, the eastern ter- 
minus of the section. Crowds of people were 
gathered all along the canal to see the new won- 
der. The trip of the new boat gratified the 
friends of the canal enterprise and as greatly 
disappointed its opponents. The boat floated 
successfully, made as good time as was expected, 
and it practically sealed the success of the great 
artificial waterway. 

(260) 



BOOMED BY THE CANAL 261 

The fate of the canal village of Syracuse was 
determined by the success of the canal itself. 
All doubt of its future was removed, and the 
village began to enjoy the boom which gave it 
prosperity and thrift; men of enterprise came 
thither, capitalists invested their money in its 
business; the settlement grew rapidly, and at 
the date of the village's incorporation, the pre- 
diction five years before, by Forman, that it 
would be a large city, began to be realized. The 
growing salt industry served also to attract at- 
tention to the place and to make sure its future. 
Canal Completion Celebrated 

On July 4th, 18-20, the completion of the 
middle division of the canal, 100 miles in length, 
was elaborately celebrated at Syracuse. Gover- 
nor Clinton, the promoter of the canal project, 
was present, and friends of the enterprise from 
all parts of the state gave their presence to the 
glad observance. 

The old Mansion house (Cossit's tavern) was 
headquarters, and there was the scene of the re- 
ception to the Governor and other distinguished 
guests. Thaddeus M. Wood presided at the ex- 
ercises held in the pine grove in the rear of the 
location of the present Townsend block; the 
Declaration of Independence was read by Nicho- 
las P. Kandall ; the oration was by Samuel Miles 
Hopkins. The procession formed at Cossit's 



262 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

tavern and marched to the grove. A dinner 
followed at the tavern. It was the first observ- 
ance of the Fourth in Syracuse, and one of the 
most enthusiastic and jubilant. Three events 
were celebrated — Independence day, the formal 
completion of the central division of the Erie 
canal, and the assurance of the future of Syra- 
cuse. All the surrounding country and promi- 
nent men from all parts of the state had part in 
the day's glad proceedings. On the completion 
of the Erie canal, November 4th, 18'25, Judge For- 
man. President of the village, delivered the ora- 
tion in the pine grove at the Townsend block site, 
Governor Clinton and other distinguished men 
being present in the large popular assemblage. 

Syracuse from 1820 to 1830 

From this time onward Syracuse grew and 
thrived. Its extension beyond the original 
bounds indicated by the projectors was decided 
and rapid. To the east and the south from the 
proposed center business and population tended. 
The Syracuse house, built by Buell & Safford, in 
1820, was an indication of the tendency. Op- 
posite, west, were one store, Moseley's, and two 
dweUings, Forman's and Case's. The clearing 
extended, on the south side of the canal, from 
Water street south to Fayette street and east to 
Warren street. The north and south road (Salina 
street) and the Seneca turnpike (Genesee street) 



A PERIOD OF RAPID GROWTH 263 

were rude highways cut away for a few feet at 
the sides to enable vehicles to pass. On the 
north side of the canal the settled part was 
from the canal north to Church street and east 
to Warren street. The dry ground of the vil- 
lage outside these limits was covered with pine 
and oak trees, and the lowlands were swamps of 
cedar and other low growths. Besides the two 
taverns there were only two frame structures in 
the place ; the rest were log houses and slab cab- 
ins scattered about on the dry spots. It was not 
till 1823 that Syracuse had a newspaper; John 
Durnford in April of that year issuing the first 
number of the Onondaga Gazette, which con- 
tained one commercial advertisement, that of 
Kasson & Heermans, hardware dealers. In 
1827 the only roads opened in the eastern part 
of the village were the Seneca turnpike, the 
Jamesville road and a short piece of Beech street 
from the turnpike to the canal. A road from 
the turnpike in what was Lodi, along the present 
Eenwick avenue, to Onondaga Valley, was in 
use before South Salina street was opened. Yel- 
low brook, quite a stream, running from the 
tamarack swamp in a zigzag course through the 
southerly part of the present city, was a feature 
of the early times. Its waters have been turned 
into the Jefferson and Harrison street sewers. 
The Syracuse company's lands east of Sahna 



264 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

street and south of Fayette street, in 1824, were 
wild, and in that year Jacob Hausenfrat built 
a house and barn where Salina street corners 
with Jefferson, and cleared the land and culti- 
vated it as a farm. Salina street was construct- 
ed across a succession of hillocks, which later 
were graded to a smooth roadway. A bridge 
spanned Yellow brook about at Jefferson street. 
Onondaga street w^as through a swamp. After 
the Syracuse house was built in 1820-2, and 
rebuilt in 1827, the Exchange hotel was built on 
the site of the Western Union offices and be- 
tween the two hostelries a row of wooden stores 
and offices filled in the space. On the Genesee 
street side were Col. Elijah Phillips's stage office, 
Harvey Baldwin's law office, A. Abbott's drug 
store, John Wilkinson, postoffice, Joel Owen's 
bowling alley, Jabez Hawley's cabinet shop, 
Peter McDougal's shoe store and Joseph I. Brad- 
ley's blacksmith shop. In the east wing of the 
Syracuse house was the Onondaga County bank, 
the first bank in Syracuse, of which Moses S. 
Marsh was president and W. K. Lathrop cashier. 
Capt. Samuel Larned bought the corner lots, 
where were erected successively the Alhambra, 
Tremont and Sherman houses, and last, the 
Larned block. Between 1824 and 1830 the ad- 
joining blocks were filled up w^ith modest busi- 
ness places and dwellings. 



THE RAYNOR BLOCK 265 

The old Raynor block, containing two stores, 
at the west of the Clinton street canal bridge, 
also is a landmark. 

This block has been remodeled, the east front 
being rebuilt with pilasters, and the roof carried 
up a story and squared. The platform on the 
easterly side was added some years ago, and 
this and the apartment to which it is the en- 
trance, then the police office, was the scene of 
the rescue of the fugitive slave, Jerry, from the 
custody of United States marshals on the night 
of October 1st, 1851. It has since been known 
as the Jerry Rescue block, and is one of the most 
interesting historic localities in Syracuse. 

An excellent picture of this block, as it was 
originally, is herewith presented. It was built 
in 1828 by Henry and Willet Raynor, who occu- 
pied the corner as a general store for some years. 
The Raynors removed from Onondaga Valley, 
where they had carried on an extensive business. 
They were of the earliest local grain dealers. As 
originally built, and before the enlargement of 
the canal, there was in this block a covered arch- 
way on the canal side, for the admission of farm- 
ers' wagons with grain and the building was 
about a rod deeper than at present. In the sec- 
ond floor was the law office of Richard Wool- 
worth, who was long a leading attorney and for 
twenty years County Judge. The upper floors 




THE RAYNOR BLOCK, NOW THE JERRY RESCUE BLOCK, 1823 
(Sketched by M. W. Hauchett, 1899) 



BUSINESS PLACES AND BUILDINGS 267 

were grain lofts, from which shipments were 
made to canal boats. 

The second of these stores was that of B. & 
J. Wright, dealers in hides and oils. Further 
west were two wooden stores, one occupied by 
Elihu Walter, painter; then a lumber yard; 
west of this was the original iron foundry of 
Wilham H. Alexander, later removed to the 
corner of West Water street and the Onondaga 
creek, which became the now well-known "Alex- 
ander Iron works." 

Across Franklin street were Calvin Riley's soap 
and candle factory, D. Morey's brewery, and 
beyond was a distillery, which was early des- 
troyed by fire. Next west was the " flume " of 
Onondaga creek, which was the public bathing 
place, and w^as much frequented by youthful 
swimmers and was provided with a " spring- 
board," which added much to its attraction. 

On the south side of Water street, opposite 
the distillery, on the site of the Alexander Iron 
works, were cattle yards and sheds, and* next 
east was the old village burying ground. Be- 
tween Franklin and Clinton streets in Water 
street were business places and dwellings, which 
will later be described. 

On the west side of the creek, ou the margin 
of the canal, was the old stone grist mill, which 
was owned by the Syracuse company and oper- 



268 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ated by Major M. D. Burnet. It was a substan- 
tial structure, built of Onondaga stone and run 
by waste water from the canal. The Amos mill 
is on that mill's site, and the Greenway brewery 
is on the site of the old distillery. John W. 
Barker for many years operated the old stone 
mill. 

The Wieting Block Corner 

The origiual structures which occupied tlie 
Wieting block site are protrayed in the accom- 
panying illustration. Before this building was 
constructed, the business place on the second lot 
from the corner was occupied by WiUiam Mal- 
colm as a hardware store, and the third by W. 
H. Moseley, grocer, the " green store," the first 
store between Onondaga Valley and the village 
of Salina. These were put up in 1819-20. The 
grocery was later kept by John Leslie, father of 
David, John, Koss and Thomas Leslie, who also 
were grocers. The hardware store on the cor- 
ner was successively kept by Kasson & Heer- 
mans, Elam Lynds & Son, Townsend & Jack- 
son, and Horace and Charles A. Wheaton. Archie 
Kasson bought the corner in 1824 and erected 
the first brick block, shown in the illustration. 
It was a three- story brick, about 70 feet in Salina 
and 25 feet in Water street, and was occupied 
throughout for hardware business, with a tin- 
shop in the upper story. John D. Lawson was 




WIKTING BLOCK CORNER, 1826-7 
(From !i sketch by M. W. Hanchett, 1899) 



270 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

for many years the boss tinman. The pile of 
grindstones, kegs of nails, potash kettle and plow 
on the sidewalk will be recalled by those who 
knew this corner in its pristine business glory. 
The building was sold to the Lynds and then to 
the Wheatons. Later, and occupying the site 
of adjoining stores in Water street, was erected 
the Wheaton block, a fine building for stores 
and offices. In its upper story was a large hall, 
whose wide galleries supported by heavy columns 
running from the floor to the ceiling were not- 
able features. The entrance to this hall was by 
wide stairways in the southeastern corner of the 
building. 

On the Salina street side, southward, was an 
alley leading to the rear of the stores in Water 
street; next to it was James Pease, shoemaker 
(who lived in Washington street, next to the 
location of McCarthy's wholesale stores), and 
the stairway leading to the upper story; then 
Theodore Ashley's furniture establishment (on 
the site of the present Everson block); the Na- 
tional hotel, a small public house, which gave 
way to the present structures, and the residence 
of William Malcolm, now the Malcolm block. 

When, in 1852, Dr. John M. Wieting bought 
the Wheaton block, he also acquired the alley 
in Salina street, and the Pease lot, then oocu- 
pied by the bank of E. B. Wicks & Company,. 



FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENT 27 1 

and the lots in Water street to the Townsend 
block, and these constituted the premises on 
which the Wieting block was erected, contain- 
ing the original Wieting hall. Three times it 
has been burned, and twice separate opera 
houses have been erected — the present one on 
enlarged premises. 

On the northwest corner of this block, 100, 
Gen. Jonas Mann lived in a substantial frame 
house, fronting on Clinton street. 

Early Fire Department 

In the foreground of the view of the Eaynor 
block, to the east of Clinton street bridge, is the 
second fire engine house in the village, which 
was a counterpart of the house of No. 1, which 
stood on the north side of the canal, directly 
opposite this house. 

One of the first provisions of the village au- 
thorities was to provide fire protection. The 
organization of No. 1 company, commanded by 
Thomas B. Heermans, was the next year fol- 
lowed by that of another company, No. 2, and 
the list of the members of these organizations 
reads like a roll of the first citizens. A hook 
and ladder company was next formed. A third, 
fourth and fifth engine were later added, and 
the volunteer companies numbered eight, to- 
gether with hook and ladder, bucket and the 
Citizens' fire protection companies, ranking fore- 



272 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

most among like departments in the cities, un- 
til the paid department and steam fire engines 
were introduced in 1877. A long line of distin- 
guished chiefs served the community, the com- 
pany organizations were strong and effective, 
and Syracuse always has had a most capable 
service in protection from fire. 



XWEIMXIETH F=»AF=EF=^ 

Nucleus of the Present City 

Pioneer Syracuse continued from the first set- 
tlement in 1805 to the incorporation of the vil- 
lage in 1825, and onward into the early 30 's, in 
which period the nucleus of the present city was 
clearly formed. Growth was slow for twenty 
years, during which the place was a mere ham- 
let ; then it was accelerated considerably for ten 
years or more, and it was rapid thence onward. 
It was not till 1830 that the expansion from the 
originally planned center took place, and then 
the business and residence sections extended 
into the east and south of the originally occu- 
pied territory. 

The illustrations accompanying this paper 
show the development on the south side of the 
Erie canal in West Water street, between Clin- 
ton and Franklin streets. The home of Joshua 
Form an, the founder, is now for the first time 
presented in pictorial illustration, and it fittingly 
accompanies the sketch of the original buildings 
on . the site of the Wieting block, presented in 
the preceding paper in this series. 

(273) 



274 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The Raynor Residence Block 

The Raynor block in West Water street, near 
Franklin street, built in 1831 by Henry Raynor, 
was the most conspicuous residence block in 
Syracuse at that time. It was a well construct- 
ed, fine appearing brick structure, containing 
four dwellings, of two stories, attic and base- 
ment, with stone facings, dormer windows, high 
front stoops, ornamental doorways, and through- 
out modeled on city style. The locality became 
the best residence quarter in the village. In 
each of the dwellings was a basement, in which 
the dining-room was at the front and the kitchen 
at the rear; double parlors and bedroom in the 
second floor, and chambers in the third floor, 
with a capacious attic. There were wide in- 
closed piazzas on the rear from each story the 
entire length of the block. On the high stoops 
were iron railing protections. The doors carried 
the old style big brass knockers. One of the 
most prominent women residents of Syracuse at 
that time contributes an account of this resi- 
dence block to this paper, as follows: 

' ' The block contained four residences— the first 
one occupied by Henry Raynor and family, the 
second by Schuyler Strong and family and then 
by Doctor Davis and family ; the third by Wil- 
liam Jackson and family; the fourth by D. D. 
Hillis and family. The dwellings were charm- 




THE RAYNOR RESIDENCE BLOCK, WEST WATER STREET, 183S 
(Sketched by M. W. H:nichett, 1899) 



270 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ingly plaoDed, with cheerful hving rooms and 
domestic apartments. The street in front was 
lined with beautiful shade trees, while in the 
rear of the parlors and upper chambers were 
very broad piazzas, screened with blinds during 
the heat of summer, and admitting glorious 
sunshine during the colder months. These piaz- 
zas were large enough to be utihzed for festive 
occasions, as, notably, was the one leading from 
the parlor of the Henry Eaynor home upon the 
evening of the marriage of his sister, Miss Julia 
Raynor, to Alfred H. Hovey, when it was en- 
closed with evergreens and flowers, while Am- 
brose, the one colored caterer of the village, with 
his assistants, there served wines and lemonade 
during the early evening, the ' wedding feast ' 
being enjoyed later in the large room above; and 
the piazza of the second house was similarly 
utilized upon the occasion of the marriage of 
Doctor and Mrs. Davis's only daughter, Louise, 
to Dr. James C. Stuart, who is affectionately 
remembered for his gentle ministrations in the 
sick room, and for his artistic musical talent by 
surviving residents of the Raynor block living 
in the now city of Syracuse. 

"Each home in the Raynor block was not only 
the center of family happiness, but also of true 
hospitality in every sense of the word, dispensed 
with sincerity and courtesy. Each family, 



THE KAYNOR RESIDENCE BLOCK 277 

during the winter, gave a ' high tea,' which, 
translated, means, oysters — soup, raw, stewed, 
fried, pickled ; oyster patties, turkey boiled with 
oyster sauce and stuffed with oysters, roast tur- 
key, chicken pie, a la mode beef, all manner of 
dainty biscuit and buns, with cranberry sauce 
and jellies; Marlborough, mince and squash pie, 
Old Hyson tea and coffee, with thick cream; 
while later in the evening good, rich vanilla and 
lemoQ ice-cream. Washington, pound and sponge 
cake, with peaches and strawberries, preserved 
(not canned), were served. 

Old Time Feasts 

"Friends from other parts of the village were 
bidden to these feasts, among whom were : Mr. 
and Mrs. B. Davis Noxon, Mr. and Mrs. Vivus 
W. Smith, Gen. Amos P. and Mrs. Granger, Mr. 
and Mrs. E. F. Wallace, Mr. and Mrs. Willett 
Raynor, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Outwater, Mr. and 
Mrs. Ehhu L. Phihips, Mr. and Mrs. Ehas W. 
Leavenworth (who hved in the white cottage in 
Water street a few doors above the Raynor 
block). Miss Theodora Morey (who later became 
the second wife of Vivus W. Smith, and is sur- 
vived by her daughter. Miss Florence A. Smith), 
Miss Cornelia Noxon, who married George F. 
Comstock, Mr. and Mrs. B. Frank Colvin, and 
Dr. and Mrs. D. S. Colvin. On one of these 
occasions the Colvin brothers became quite 



278 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

warm, through a pohtical discussion, whereat 
Mrs. Amos P. Granger, in her characteristic 
way, called upon a young lady ' to play a lively 
jig, and see if those Colvins would cool! ' The 
Colvins, at once entering into the spirit of the 
music, danced a spirited ' pas deux, ' greatly to 
the amusement of the guests. 

"In course of time the Raynor block changed 
tenants, D. D. Hilhs, and William Jackson and 
family going to their new homes in Fayette 
park, while Dr. John W, Hanchett (father of 
Mrs. Henry Raynor) and family then occupied 
the fourth house in the block, and M. W. Han- 
chett and his bride, nee Miss Martha Hunting- 
ton of Owego, commenced their housekeeping 
in the third house. Dr. John W. Hanchett was 
a prominent and skilful physician, and num- 
bered among his patients members of the lead- 
ing families of Syracuse, but seeing in one of his 
old ledgers, shown me by a relative, ' For one 
month's attendance upon Mrs. , seven dol- 
lars,' proves that fortunes were not made by 
the profession in those days. 

Music's Real III 

"After the removal of Dr. Davis and family to 
the Syracuse house and the death of Doctor 
Hanchett, their former homes in the Raynor 
block were occupied by John 0. Hanchett and 
family, and by George Saul and family, and it 



THE HOME OF MUSIC 279 

might be said that the Raynor block then be- 
came music's realm, with the unique talent 
possessed by Mrs. Saul (who was the beautiful 
and accomplished daughter of Doctor Hoffen- 
dahl, at that period the leading homeopathic 
physician of Boston), and whose piano instru- 
mentation and technique were most brilliant and 
touching, while Mrs. M. Waldo Hanchett won 
laurels through her sympathetic mezzo-soprano 
voice. M. Waldo Hanchett dehghted all with 
his varied talent, for he was an amateur of wide 
scope, performing equally well upon any instru- 
ment from an organ to an accordian, and John 
C. Hanchett (eldest son of Dr. John W. Han- 
chett and brother of Mrs. Henry Raynor), ren- 
dered on his flute most charming melodies; 
while often at Mr. and Mrs. Henry Raynor's home 
there were musical evenings, where the above 
mentioned artists discoursed enchanting num- 
bers, aided by Miss Amelia Wallace (who mar- 
ried Jacob S. Smith) and her sister, Miss Char- 
lotte Wallace, who both rendered duets and 
solos with artistic taste and rare melody. 

" Mrs. William Jackson, Miss Mary Jackson, M. 
W. Hanchett, Miss Juhet Raynor Hovey (daugh- 
ter of A. H. Hovey), Mrs. Edward S. Jenney, 
Charles F. Saul and sister Emma (children of 
Mr. and Mrs. George Saul), Dr. Juliet E. Han- 
chett, Messrs. James and Charles Hanchett 



28(1 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

(children of John C. Hanchett), Miss Josephine 
G. E ay nor, Mrs. George R. Granger, Mrs. Charles 
J. Coleman and Mrs. Arthur Gilman (children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Raynor), are the only 
living representatives of the famous old Raynor 
block, which has been demolished, and in its 
place stands W, S. Peck & Company's whole- 
sale establishment. ' ' 

On the west of the Raynor block were three 
tenements of wood, two and a half stories high, 
with high steps, which were built before 1830. 
Nathaniel P. Stanton, jr., the teacher, occupied 
the corner residence. These gave place to the 
Mertens clothing establishment. 

Next east of the Raynor block was the 2 story 
brick residence, built in 1827 by John Wall, 
and first occupied by him, and then by Christo- 
pher C. Bradley, which was the second brick 
dwelling erected in Syracuse. (The John Rogers 
brick dwelling in East Genesee street, which gave 
place to the extension of the Bastable block 
when it was rebuilt after the destruction by fire, 
was the first brick residence in the village.) 

Next east was the old stone house, the oldest 
stone house in the place, which was built and 
occupied about 1824: by Judge James Webb, and 
since has been for years occupied as a recruiting 
station. Next east was the 2-story and wing 
dwelling of George Mead, built in 1827, and re- 




■o-TREET. 



RESIDENCE OP JOSHUA FORMAN, 1820 TO 1826 
(Sketched by M. W. Hanchett. 1899) 



282 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

moved for the building of the Grouse stores. 
Then came, on the last lot of the block, the 
residence of Joshua Forman, which the Judge 
and his family occupied duriug their residence 
here, till removal to North Carolina in 1826. It 
had a peculiar part in the development of the 
village. An excellent illustration of the Forman 
place is herewith presented, with its surround- 
ings. It was built in 1819, and originally stood 
in what is now Clinton street, facing Water 
street and the canal, with some fifty acres of 
land in the rear of it and extending back to the 
old creek south and over to Salina street on the 
east. When the village authorities ordered Clin- 
ton street opened so as to cross the west end of 
Clinton square and the canal, it necessitated the 
removal of this house, and it was taken one lot 
to the westward, which located it on the corner 
of Water and Clinton streets. The house was 
finally placed in what originally was Clinton 
street, and Clinton street proper was opened 
from Water street southward. But the dwell- 
ing was placed on the west side of the lot and 
Judge Forman's law and business office was 
built on the corner. It was not till 1849, how- 
ever, that Clinton street was continued beyond 
Fayette street on a straight line to Onondaga 
street, because of the diversion caused by the 
old mill pond, which at and south of Jefferson 



HOME OF FORMAN, THE FOUNDER 283 

street submerged Clinton street and gave it a 
bend to the eastward. In the illustration will 
be seen the w^ell situated between the office and 
the house, which was the source of water supply 
for all the neighborhood. The dwelling was a 
large structure, all under one roof. It stood on 
the line of the street. A pretty garden was at 
the rear. After Judge Forman's departure his 
son-in-law, Elias W. Leavenworth, occupied 
this house, and later Vivus W. Smith hved there, 
1830-32. The corner building was occupied by 
Mrs. Ellis as a confectionery store in 1836, and 
later it was known as " The Climax." These 
premises became the site of the Crouse grocery 
stores. 

In Clinton street, next south of Forman's 
office, was the brick dwelling of Dr. Mather Wil- 
liams, another son-in-law of Judge Forman, 
This gave place to the Crouse stores. Adjoin- 
ing Doctor Williams in Clinton street was a 
block of two large brick dwellings. The north 
one was at one time occupied as Miss Allen's 
ischool for young ladies, and the south dwelling 
was at one time occupied by Josiah Wright. 
Next south of this was a lot used for lumber, 
and in the rear of this, fronting Washington 
street, was a 2-story frame dwelling occupied by 
Daniel Elliott, father of Charles L. Elliott and 
Mrs. Thomas B. Fitch. 



284 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The Kirk Tavern, 1824 

John Wilkinson, the first Postmaster of Syra- 
cuse, was closely associated with Joshua Forman 
in the foundation of the village. He came here 
from Onondaga Hill in 1819, with Forman, to 
resurvey the Walton tract, and aided in laying 
out the blocks and lots of the place. After com- 
pleting his law studies in Forman's office, Wilk- 
inson located at what is now the Globe hotel cor- 
ner, built him a law office on that corner, a 
small 1-story structure, and located his residence, 
a li story dwelling, among the trees further 
back in the lot. This was in 1827. 

Three other frame dwellings occupied the 
Salina street front of this block. Next to Wilk- 
inson's was Thomas B. Heermann's house; then 
the residence of Alanson Edwards, afterwards 
County Clerk, these two standing well back from 
the street ; then the dwelhng lining up to the side- 
walk, built by Franklin Manning, and later oc- 
cupied by Vivus W. Smith. 

At the corner of Salina and Fayette streets 
was William B. Kirk's tavern, a typical old-time 
public house, which was built in 1824 by John 
Garrison, who bought a wagon of Mi. Kirk, 
then a wagon-maker at Cardiff. He died in 
1826, and Kirk purchased the tavern, allowing 
the price of the wagon to apply thereon. It was 
this circumstance that brought Kirk to Syra- 



THE KIRK TAVERN 



285 



€use, and his enterprise in this tavern prospered 
and the money he made was invested in real 
estate and Central railroad stocks and he be- 
came one of the wealthy men of the place. 
But for the wagon deal he M^ould probably have 
remained a country w^agon-maker. 

The accompanying illustration shows the Kirk 
tavern as it continued under several proprietors 
after Mr. Kirk retired, until 1859 he erected a 




THE KIRK TAVERN 
(Sketched by U. W. Hanchett, 1899) 



4-story brick block on the site of the old tavern, 
and this gave place to the fine building erected 
by William B. Kirk, jr. 

On the opposite corner of Salina and Fayette 
streets, about the same time was erected a simi- 
lar tavern, by Clark Hebard, which later was 
kept by Thomas J. Keeler. These two taverns 
were the favorites with the farmers commg to 
town from the region round-about. They were 



286 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

comfortable structures, affording good accom- 
■ modations, and their stables were large and con- 
venient. The Pike block took the place of the 
old Keeler tavern. 

The first section of the Globe hotel was built 
in 1846 on the Wilkinson lot, and the other parts, 
not at first intended for hotel use, were later 
constructed and the upper floors converted to 
hotel purposes, while stores occupied the ground 
floor. John Wilkinson was the first owner. 
The same year the Malcolm block opposite north 
of the Globe was built, and the Malcolm hall 
had a place in its upper floors. The original 
Larned block, and several stores in South Salina 
street were erected by the Syracuse company, 
at about the same time, and these were great 
improvements for the Syracuse of the period 
just preceding the blooming out of the village^ 
into cityhood. 



TWENXY-F-IFRS-r F=AF=EF? 

The Original Syracuse House 

The original Syracuse house, erected on the 
southeast corner of South Sahna and East Gene- 
see streets in 1820-22, by Luther Buell and Shu- 
bel Safford, 50 feet square and two stories (Mr. 
Safford being killed by a fall from the building 
while the structure was in progress), was rebuilt 
by the Syracuse company in 1827, four stories 
in height, with wings of three stories on the east 
and south, and in part was standing w^hen in 
1897 the site was built over for the Onondaga 
County Savings bank. The hotel was the most 
extensive brick structure in the village for many 
years. 

A good view of the hotel after it was rebuilt 
is given in the accompanying illustration, the 
first that conveys an accurate idea of the his- 
toric old building. Originally the office, bar- 
room and dining-room were on the first floor, 
the office in the corner and the dining-room in 
the wing next along the Salina street front. 
The office was large, and in its middle was a 
famous old-style box wood stove, which burnt 
four foot logs. Around this splendid fire gath- 

(287) 




THE SYRACUSE HOUSE, REBUILT IX 1827 



GREAT MEN ENTERTAINED 289 

ered many congenial spirits, prominent among 
whom are recalled Philo N. Rust, the prince of 
landlords, whose fame extended throughout the 
country; Dr. David S, Colviu, Jasper Colvin, 
Andrew N. Van Patten, Joel Cody, Maj. M. D. 
Burnet, Capt. Samuel Earned, Col. John H. 
Johnson, James Manning, Philo D. Mickles, 
Lewis H. Eedfield, Maj. William A. Cook, Sam- 
uel C. Brewster, Joseph Slocum, James E. 
Lawrence, Amos P. Granger, Timothy C. Che- 
ney, Lucius A. Cheney, David D. Hillis, Gen. 
Oren Hutchinson, Oliver R. Strong, Harvey 
Baldwin, Gen. Van Cortlandt, Dr. Rial Wright, 
Doctor Healey, Julius Wood, and many others 
who formed an interesting galaxy of kindred 
souls who discussed the affairs of state and na- 
tion and settled to their own satisfaction the 
course of events and the destiny of men. 

This hostelry entertained the great men of 
the time. Presidents John Quincy Adams, Mar- 
tin Van Buren, and Millard Fillmore were guests 
there. Webster, Clay, Marcy, Seward, Seymour, 
Douglass, Cass, Scoft, Crittenden, Greeley and 
many other distinguished Americans, besides 
Charles Dickens and other noted foreigners, 
innumerable art, literary and dramatic person- 
ages have been sheltered, by its hospitable roof. 
Speeches were made from its balconies by Fill- 
more, Webster, Cass, Stephen A. Douglass, Wil- 



290 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

liam A. Graham, John J. Crittenden, Cassius M. 
Clay, and many other pohtical characters. Jen- 
ny Lind, Patti, Parepa, Brignoli, Henry Eussell, 
the Hutchinsons, and other great singers ; Henry 
AVard Beecher, John B. Gough, Garrison and 
Philhps and other eminent platform speakers 
were among its temporary inmates. One suite 
of rooms on its second floor in the east wing was 
the distinguished guests' chamber, and in later 
years Thomas T. Davis, Lewis H. Redfield and 
William Kirkpatrick at various times occupied 
it. Doctor Irving and Doctor Foran, highly in- 
teresting characters, were of the old Syracuse 
house coterie. 

The landlords of this famous hostelry were 
George Rust, Philo N. Rust, Gillett & Knicker- 
bocker, Daniel Comstock, H. T. Gibson, W. D. 
Stewart and 0. E. Allen. The house always 
maintained a high reputation and was as widely 
known as Syracuse itself. 

Actiye Scenes 

On the opening of the railroads east and west 
the Syracuse house was again improved; its din- 
ing-room was transferred to the second floor of 
the extensive addition on the south, and an en- 
trance made direct from the railroad station. 
Then the first floor was converted into business 
places, and at various times, on the Salina street 
side. Garret & Middleton, dry goods; J. C. & M. 



A FAMOUS DINING HALL 291 

W. Hanchett, druggists- Hamilton & Thatcher, 
Stoddard & Babcock and the Wynkoops, book- 
sellers; W. L. Palmer, news room; the Burnet 
bank and the railroad ticket office, occupied the 
stores. The Exchange hotel, next to the railroad 
station, was also given over to stores and otifices. 
The Wells, Fargo & Company's express and the 
WesternXnion telegraph offices were there. The 
basements were occupied by restaurants, and 
passengers from the cars to the hotels, in pass- 
ing, were importuned to take their meals in these 
places. Hand bells were rung on the sidewalks 
to attract patrons, and one of the inducements 
now recalled was : "Step in here for a square 
meal; three kinds of pie— apple pie, mince pie, 
and cheese. ' ' 

The old dining-room on the first floor was a 
fine apartment, whose ceilings and side walls 
were tastefully ornamented in continuous war 
scenes, which were pleasing and attractive. The 
ball-room in the upper story, which was reached 
by winding stairs from the ground floor, was a 
lofty hall, about 50 by -tO feet, with ante-rooms. 
It was the scene of many pubHc dinners, which 
were frequeut in those times, and of the Inde- 
pendence day, military and other balls, the place 
of resort for Syracuse's 400 of the early time, 
and sometimes lectures and other entertain- 
ments were given in it. Besides the platform 



292 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

on the lower floor there were piazzas all around 
the north and west sides of the house. In its 
day it was a most comfortable hostelry and of 
great repute. 

At public dinners a peculiar custom was ob- 
served. On the giving of a toast a signal would 
be made from the balcony and the 6-pounder 
cannon in Clinton square would greet the senti- 
ment with a salute. Fourth of July and Presi- 
dential inauguration balls were held in the Syra- 
cuse house, and the attendance on these occa- 
sions included the elite of the ambitious young 
town. 

In the cupola of the hotel was a bell of goodly 
size, which was always rung, in the early days, 
at the regular hours of meals, and was also used, 
together with the depot and the one or two 
church bells, in alarms of fires. 

The lines of passenger stages — B. W. Sher- 
wood & Company's, Butterfield's and others — 
in their course through Genesee turnpike and 
over the stone bridge, made their regular stops, 
with great flourish, at the north door of the old 
hotel. 

Description of the stores and their occupants 
■on the Genesee street side of the old Syracuse 
house was given in a preceding paper. The 
notes in this series of papers of the early center 
of business in the young village are presented, 



ORIGINAL BUSINESS HOUSES 293 

as in the main additions to the before recorded 
history of Syracuse as a village, in what may 
properly be called its pioneer time. 

Accompanying this paper is an illustration of 
the appearance of the south side of Clinton 
square at the time the village of Syracuse was 
organized, 1824 to 1834. It is a companion pic- 
ture to that presenting the original structures on 
the north side of Clinton square, accompanying 
the seventeenth paper of this series. This is 
the first view of the south side ever published, 
and its accuracy is fully established. Peculiar 
interest attaches to these two views, inasmuch 
as they portray the early development and first 
decided progress of " the village of the plains," 
as it was called in those days. 
Structures on the South Side of Clinton Square, 
1824 to 1834 

The site of the AVietiug block, already de- 
scribed in detail, with the original structures 
leading up to the present business block and 
opera house, extended in Water street from the 
corner of Salina street to the E. T. Tefft store, 
and in Salina street, including the former alley 
and the Pease shoe store. The corner hard- 
ware store was of brick ; all the others of wood.. 
The structures were painted in various colors. 
The names on the signs were all most familiar:: 
Kasson & Heermans and William Malcolm, hard- 




o «3 



PROMINENT MERCHANTS 295 

ware dealers ; John Leslie, a well-known grocer ; 
Charles Leonard, harness-maker, and later salt 
manufacturer; Agnew & ^yood, tailors; Dr. 
Jonathan Day, physician and druggist, and Hi- 
ram Judson, jeweler; these were the original 
business men in stores on the Wieting block site. 

Next to Tefft's dry goods store on the west 
was a small structure, the law office of John G. 
Forbes, with whom Harvey Sheldon studied and 
afterwards was partner; then the business office 
of the Syracuse Company, M. D. Burnet, agent, 
who was succeeded by John W, Barker, and Ly- 
man W. Conkey, agent, for the Syracuse Com- 
pany's grist mill; then Samuel Gardner, jeweler 
and watchmaker, who invented the electric gas 
lighter, extensively used in the principal cities ; 
and the Clinton street corner store and dwelling, 
occupied by Charles Rust, dealer in prison-made 
furniture. E. T. Tefft, Hiram Judson and 
Charles Rust had their family residences over 
their stores. Elijah F. Wallace and John Durn- 
ford kept schools in these buildings. Entrance 
to the upper stories was from the alley in the 
rear. 

The men engaged in business pursuits in this 
row of buildings, in the early times, all become 
prominent citizens of Syracuse. Major Burnet, 
as agent for the Syracuse Company, was an ac- 
tive promoter of the village development. He 



296 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

gained prominence and wealth ; had been Sher- 
iff of Orange county before he came hither; 
held local offices, and was elected Mayor in 1851, 
but declined to enter upon the office. Major 
Burnet at an early date occupied a small frame 
dwelling in James street, from which he re- 
moved to a larger frame house, built by Joshua 
Forman on the north side of West Genesee 
street, facing West street. This dwelling, with 
its wide verandas and finely arranged gardens, 
was one of the most attractive places in the vil- 
lage. After the Major's removal to his spacious 
high dwelling in James street the place became 
the property and home of Judge George F. Com- 
stock. Burnet park, the gift to Syracuse of his 
son, John B,, in his name, is a memorial to this 
widely respected pioneer citizen. John G. Forbes 
was an afctorney-at-law in the village of Salina, 
and came to Syracuse, where he was for years 
prominent in his profession and in public affairs. 
He was a leader of the Whig party, a Member 
of Assembly and Bank Commissioner. John 
W. Barker was long a leader in local affairs, 
and one of the most active agents and promoters 
of the salt manufacture. E. T. Tefft here began 
his long and successful career as a merchant. 
He removed to New York and was for years at 
the head of the dry goods firm of E. T. Tefft & 
Company, and Tefft, Griswold & Weller. Dr. 



THE FIRST CANAL BRIDGE 297 

John M. Wieting was a science student and 
public lecturer of national reputation, Horace 
Wheaton was Eepresentative in Congress and 
Mayor of Syracuse. Charles A. Wheaton was 
a reformer and anti-slavery agitator. 

In front of Major Burnet's office was a mag- 
nificent old hickory tree, which remained till a 
late day. It was celebrated in poetry by Samuel 
Copp, who was uncle of the well-known Samuel 
C. Brewster, and was noted for his poetic effu- 
sions in his business advertising. The tree often 
was referred to by the newspapers of the time. 

In Salina street, next south of the corner, was 
James Pease's shoe shop. In Clinton street 
south of Rust's furniture store were two 2-story 
white frame dwellings, occupied by Gen. Jonas 
Mann and Ezra Foster. The rest of that side of 
the block was vacant. 

Granite hall, built and conducted by C. Tyler 
Longstreet, was the most pretentious structure 
in this row of business buildings until the Wiet- 
ing block and Townsend block were erected. 
Here Mr. Longstreet laid the foundation of his 
extensive wholesale clothing business, which he 
later continued in New York city. He was the 
pioneer in the wholesale clothing manufacture. 
The First of the Canal Bridges 

The original stone single arch bridge over the 
Erie canal at Salina street was the first of the 



298 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

canal bridges at this place, and for some time 
the only one across the canal here. It was con- 
structed in 1818, and the material was the El- 
bridge sandstone, the Onondaga limestone not 
yet being deemed suitable for such purpose. It 
was in this construction, as also of the canal 
locks, that the Onondaga hydraulic lime came 
into use and speedily was largely employed in 
under-water stone work. In the building of the 
canal it was at this stone bridge that there was 
failure of the canal bottom to retain water; 
after some time the bottom was made water 
tight, and then a similar experience was had at 
the Raynor (now Jerry Eescue) block, which also 
was overcome. The dimensions of the original 
canal were: Width at surface, 40 feet; at bot- 
tom, 28 feet; depth, 4 feet; locks, 90 feet long 
and 12 feet wide. The first canal boats were 61 
feet long and 7^ feet wide, with cabins 14 feet 
high. They were drawn by single horses, and 
their draft was 14 inches. 

The Original Stone Bridge 

The original bridge allowed for the passage of 
two boats; but soon the size of the boats in- 
creased, and they were unable to pass the first 
bridges. As a consequence larger bridges were 
constructed in place of the early ones. When 
the Salina street stone bridge was removed, so 
firm was its masonry that blasting powder had 




ORIGINAL STONE BRIDGE OVER THE ERIE CANAL AT SALINA STREET, 1818 
(Prom a sketch by M. W. Hauchett, 1899) 



300 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

to be used to demolish it. It was replaced by a 
wooden structure, whose timbers were sheathed. 
This bridge was too low for the increased height 
of the boats, and at one time it was raised tv/o 
feet by placing timbers under its ends. A sec- 
ond wooden bridge was constructed in 1847. 
The first iron bridge was built in 1858 at a cost 
of $3,628. After the city fire apparatus went 
through this bridge, in 1869, iron needlebeams 
were substituted in place of the wooden beams 
of the structure. 

The swing bridge at Sahna street was con- 
structed by Howard Soule in 1875, at a cost of 
$15,190.15. The present hoist bridge was built 
by the Groton Bridge company in 1898 at a cost 
of $36,000. Thus six bridges have been built 
and served their usefulness over the Erie canal 
at Salina street in the eighty years the canal 
has been operated. 

The original single stone arch was the hand- 
somest bridge of the series. It was narrow and 
short compared with the present structure, but 
it was in excellent proportions and appearance. 
Oil lamps were on the four corners, which under 
the regulation of the village trustees were lighted 
on dark nights. 

On all public occasions, when the village 6- 
pound cannon was brought into use, the gun 
was fired in Clinton square in front of the Man- 



302 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

sion house, the muzzle being pointed into the 
arch of the bridge, and the reverberation was an 
effective prolongation of the report. On the 
early packets the favorite place of passengers 
was the upper deck, and the cry on approaching 
bridges, "low bridge," the signal for ducking 
heads, was familiar to all canal travellers. 



TWEN-rV-SEOONO F=AF=EF=J 

Salina and Salt Point 

Pioneer times were essentially the same in 
Salina and the other villages and hamlets which 
later were consohdated into the city of Syracuse. 
Salina was older than the other settlements on 
the Salt Springs reservation, having been settled 
in 1789, by several families attracted thither by 
the fame of the salt discovery. Directly after 
the Danforths and Tyler located at Onondaga 
Valley in 1788, John Danforth led a small colony 
to Salt Point, and there and at Liverpool these 
pioneers entered upon salt making. Col. Jere- 
miah Gould and family and his three sons, Isaac 
Van Vleck, Thomas Orman, Simon Phares and 
famihes joined the colony, and thenceforward 
the new arrivals increased season after season. 
Although the locality was known to be unhealthy 
from the malarial influences which early sur- 
rounded it, there continued steady emigration 
from the East of persons in quest of fortune 
through the salt interest. In 1793, the year 
before Onondaga county was organized, there 
were thirty families in the community and with 
few exceptions they sufPered from malarial 

(303) 



304 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

fever. In that time some of the salt- makers 
made the Onondaga villages their homes for rea- 
sons of health and comfort. The little commu- 
nity was composed of energetic, sturdy people, 
mostly from New England, and many of these 
men made their mark indelibly on the growth of 
the new country. 

Unpropitious Beginniugs 

The earliest and most promising salt-manufac- 
ture was at Salt Point. All around the east and 
south sides of Onondaga lake and in the lower val- 
ley of Onondaga creek was a marsh and swamp 
condition, against which the settlers made their 
fight. It was an unpromising locality, in re- 
spect to health and comfort, where Salina, Ged- 
des and Syracuse were founded, and it was a 
fervent imagination that foresaw any great fu- 
ture for these places. But salt furnished the 
basis on which the canal and then the railroad 
erected a substantial superstructure. There 
were spots holding out encouragement and the 
founders and promoters selected these for their 
first ventures and about them were made the im- 
provements which lowered the marshy streams, 
filled the low, swampy places, laid substantial 
highways and gradually converted the whole 
territory into a state of health and salubrity. 
Cabins and huts were the first places of habita- 
tion ; then frame and mud structures, such as 



salina's rivalry 305 

first sheltered the pioneers at Salina, and the 
frame and brick buildings followed, and later on 
the magnificent edifices of many stories and the 
palatial residences were erected and became orna- 
ments of the place, which so recently was a bar- 
ren waste and swampy jungle. The pioneers 
in the first quarter of a century made these re- 
sults possible. The character and traits of these 
energetic, hopeful people are reflected in their 
beginning of the work of building the city which 
now occupies this beautiful valley and their wise 
and systematic operations in clearing the forest, 
in renovating the low places, and in turning into 
spots of beauty the forbidding places of little 
more than a century ago. 

Competition of Salina and Syracuse 

The early advantage was with old-time Salina. 
She had salt, location and popularity in her fa- 
vor. On the canal impulse Syracuse sprung up 
and the railroad sent the latter village ahead. 
The Erie canal was extended to Salina and to 
the Seneca river, to make connection with the 
salt works and with places on the earlier water 
route north and west, but Syracuse was more 
thoroughly the canal village. It was the enter- 
prise of Forman, the founder of Syracuse, that 
extended canal facilities to Salina and moved 
successfully in the state's lowering the water of 
the lake and the removal of the most serious 



306 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

causes of malarial troubles. Salina had the ad- 
vantage of eligible residence sites on the high 
grounds, but this did not avail against the supe- 
rior facilities of Syracuse for reaching the out- 
side world. The rivalry of the villages contin- 
ued till in the '40s, when common interests 
brought them together in a city organization. 

Opening of Trade Relations 

Supplying the new country with provisions 
was a difficult matter. Exchanges for salt were 
made with distant points, at Tioga, Whitestown, 
Kingston and Albany. " Captain Canute " es- 
tablished a trading boat running between Albany 
and Salt Point, by way of Onondaga lake, Oneida 
river and lake. Wood creek and the Mohawk 
river. The captain not only carried salt in ex- 
change, but he carried furs and young bears, 
wolves, raccoons, foxes, fawns, etc., which had 
ready sale at Albany. Deer were plentiful and 
so regardless of human beings that they freely 
came to the habitation and herded with the cows 
in the barnyards. Young bears and other ani- 
mals were furnished to the traders by the Indi- 
ans for small prices. Wild animals were so 
common in the vicinity of the settlements that 
they were troublesome. Original names of streets 
at Salina were taken from the animals common 
there, as Bear and Wolf paths, which later be- 
came streets of those names. 



PLAGUE VISITATIONS 307 



The Cholera Seasons 



The mortality rate from malarial diseases was 
very large in the early years of the settlements, 
and in the cholera seasons of 1832 and '34 there 
was a very large Dumber of deaths. These visi- 
tations were trying to the young communities. 
At Syracuse the loss of prominent men was most 
marked. Dr. Jonathan Day, Dr. William Kirk- 
patrick and the Rev. N. J. Gilbert succumbed to 
the disease at about the same time. They were 
among the most prominent citizens. The record 
is not complete, but the deaths from cholera in 
Salina and Syracuse numbered about 250. All 
burials of cholera patients were at night. Sex- 
ton Gould of the Presbyterian church dug the 
graves, and ' ' Veto ' ' Clark, overseer of the poor,. 
always was the mourner following the solitary 
hearse. Clark was a character of the early 
village. His full name was John H. Clark. He 
was a small person, but full of energy and true 
as a dial. He got his nick-name " Veto " from 
his devotion to President Andrew Jackson, whose 
veto messages he carried in his pocket, and from 
which he always was ready with quotations in a 
political argument. Clark was a true man, faith- 
ful to every duty, and his attention to cholera 
patients when everybody else ran away from 
them, was truly heroic. Clark was a printer 
and active in the early newspaper publications. 



308 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Abraham Van Vleck was the first white male 
child born in the county of Onondaga — at Salina 
in 1792. The family of an Indian who at the 
time of Abraham's birth was drowned at Os- 
wego Falls, gave him the name of Ne-un-hoo-tah, 
which meant sorrow for one departed, and pre- 
sented him with a mile-square of land at the 
outlet of Onondaga lake. The title was not 
recognized by the state. All the Van Vleck 
family were decorated with Indian names. 

The first physician was Doctor Holbrook of 
Jamesville, who came to Salina every day dur- 
ing the ague and fever season to attend the sick. 
Doctor Burnet became the resident physician in 
1797. 

In 1794 the blockhouse at Salina was erected 
in anticipation of trouble with the Indians. It 
was located by Baron Steuben and associate 
commissioners, and already has been described 
in these papers. At several times the settlers 
were alarmed by threats of attacks by Indians 
and the British. There was trouble with the 
British troops at Oswego, who held up trading 
boats from Salt Point, and some reprisals were 
taken by the Salt Pointers, but no serious results 
occurred. 

The Tillage of Salina 

The state took charge of the salt springs in 
1797, when, under state survey, the village of 




VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF SALINA, I84U 
(Reproduced from the Historical Collection, published in 18-11) 



310 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Salina was formally laid out, and in 1809 the 
town of Salina was organized. The territory of 
the town had been in the original townships of 
Manlius and Marcellus, and by various changes 
later the present town was formed. 

At the laying out of the village of Salina the 
village lots were marketed, and many families 
then purchasing are still represented by their 
owners and occupants. William Stevens, first 
Salt Superintendent, Elisha and Diocletian Al- 
vord, Fisher Curtis, Ashbel Kellogg, Samuel R. 
Mathews, Davenport Morey, Thomas McCarthy, 
William Gilchrist, Thomas Wheeler, David W. 
Hollister, Ichabod Brackett, Samuel P. Smith, 
David Brace, William D. Stewart, Dean Rich- 
mond, Burr Burton and Russell Buckley were 
among the more active of the early Salt Point- 
ers. Captain Stewart, Richmond and Buckley 
carried the first boatload of salt by canal to 
Utica. 

Salina was incorporated as a village in 1824, 
one year before Syracuse. In 1847 it became a 
part of the city of Syracuse, and the First ward 
of the young city, with a separate postoffice and 
other concessions. There had been a severe 
rivalry between the two villages from the day 
Joshua Forman became a promoter of Syracuse 
in 1819. This rivalry, often heated and intense 
and sometimes violent in its demonstration, con- 



SALINA ORGANIZED 311 

tinued up to nearly the time of the consoUdation 
of the villages. Early occurrences incident to 
this rivalry were very warlike in their character ; 
the fights between bodies of men from each vil- 
lage were fierce and bloody; at elections and 
other times the order of " knock down and 
drag out " was practiced. Sometimes promi- 
nent men were involved, and active leaders were 
of the Dean Richmond, Charles Woodruff and 
Tobias Buckley class, men who were forces in 
business and political affairs. The writer has 
seen 300 to 500 men engaged in an election or 
street fight between these elements, in which 
stones and clubs were the missiles and barri- 
cades of timber were erected across the streets. 
Contests were waged on the line of Division 
street, the division between the villages, at elec- 
tions held at the old Court house and at the 
Mansion house, and on one occasion a very fierce 
battle was fought in East Genesee street where 
now stand the Granger and Bastable blocks. 
The Salt Pointers had forced their way to that 
point, and there the Syracusans made a stand 
behind the timbers the Granger block was being 
built of, and repelled their assailants with show- 
ers of cobblestones torn up from the street pave- 
ment. Another occasion of a desperate fight 
between these elements was at the time of the 
Coffee house riot on' January 1st, 1844, the Salt 



312 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Pointers being the aggressors, and one of their 
number, named Blake, being shot by Sigel, the 
keeper of the house. A pubhc meeting was held 
in denunciation of these proceedings and the 
public sentiment aroused did much to repress 
the hostilities. 

Center of Salt Business 

In 1826 the Sahna canal extension was begun, 
and two years later the Oswego canal was in 
operation. Salina was always the most active 
center of the salt business and furnished a large 
amount of business to the canals. Westward 
shipment of salt was on favorable terms, as the 
boats returning to the West were mostly light. 
Henry Seymour, father of Horatio Seymour, was 
early engaged in milling at Salina, and Horatio 
and John F. Seymour, later. Thomas G. Al- 
vord, Ehzur Clark and William Clark, Ezra M. 
Knapp, Jonathan R. Beach, Richard Sanger, 
Alonzo Crippen, Coddington B. Wilhams, Ira H. 
WiUiams, Noah Wood, Hunter Crane, James 
Lynch, Thomas McCarthy, Stanton P. Babcock, 
were early engaged in business pursuits. The 
center of business was in Exchange street. 

The old Alvord building, at the corner of 
Salina and Exchange streets, is the oldest brick 
building within the limits of the city of Syra- 
cuse. It was erected by the brothers Alvord in 
1808. 



FACTS ABOUT GEDDES 313 

The church and school history of the village 
shows the enlightened and progressive qualities 
of the inhabitants. Old Salina contained social 
elements of the highest order, v^hich have been 
perpetuated in the later generations. 

Geddes as Town and Village 

The village and town of Geddes derived their 
name from James Geddes, the pioneer of the 
salt industr}^ there, and one of the most vigor- 
ous promoters of the Erie canal project. He 
came from Carlisle, Pa., in 1793. He at once 
began salt-making, which the Indians resented 
on the ground that they had taken the white 
men into partnership, and the whites having 
monopolized the salt on one side of the lake 
should leave the other side to them. The matter 
was at last fixed up by the making of suitable 
presents to the Indians by Mr. Geddes, and the 
installing of him as a member of the Onondaga 
nation. Ephriam Webster successfully negoti- 
ated this settlement. After a couple of years 
Mr. Geddes retired to his farm at Fairmount and 
was succeeded in the salt manufacture by Free- 
man Hughes, from Westfleld, Mass. 

Geddes was located on high ground and always 
has been more healthy than other early settled 
localities. The first tavern in 1803, the first 
school-house in 1804, were followed by churches 
and other improvements. 



314 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

The town of Geddes was organized in 1848 
from all that part of Salina lying on the west 
side of Onondaga lake. In 1886 nearly the 
whole of the village of Geddes was annexed to 
the city of Syracuse. This village antedated 
Syracuse and was nearly as old as Salina. When 
settled it had but one connection with the outside 
world, and that by way of a road to Onondaga 
Valley. The first public improvement by the 
new settlers was the building of a road from 
Geddes to Salina. The village map, made in 
1807 by Mr. Geddes for Dr. William Kirkpatrick, 
superintendent of the Salt Springs, shows twenty 
lots on the turnpike, now Genesee street. A 
characteristic of the streets of the village, which 
in 1822 were resurveyed by John Randall, jr., 
is that they are 100 feet wide. The opening of 
the Erie canal gave this place quite an impulse, 
and from being merely a salt village, it broad- 
ened out into general business and manufactur- 
ing interests. Many active and prominent men 
were identified with its growth and prosperity. 
The Solvay Process works, the state fair grounds 
and buildings, the Onondaga pottery, the Lake- 
side stock farms of Smiths & Powell, many man- 
ufacturing and industrial establishments mark 
the recent career of the West End. The growth 
of its churches and schools, as well as its popula- 
tion, has been very marked. 



LEADING MEN OF LODI 315 

The hamlet known as Lodi, lying east of the 
Walton tract and including the highlands of the 
eastern part of the present city of Syracuse, 
was promoted by Capt. Oliver Teall, who located 
there in 1819, was active in building the Erie 
canal and who was the first superintendent of 
the long level. He had extensive mills at Beach 
street, operated by the waste water of the long 
level, and he organized the original water system 
for Syracuse. He associated himself with Aaron 
Burt and Harvey Baldwin, and the three were 
promoters of the village of Lodi. They built 
the Syracuse academy and superintended it dur- 
ing its existence. The first highway opened in 
the village was Beach street, which in 1820 was 
extended from the turnpike to the canal to bring 
TealFs mills into relations with the adjacent 
community. The Teall residence near the canal 
at Beach street is still a pretentious dwell- 
ing. The Syracuse Water works had their orig- 
inal supply from springs in the hills east of the 
village in 1842. The Water works company was 
incorporated in 1849, with Oliver Teall as presi- 
dent, in which relation be continued till his 
death in 1857. 

Aaron Burt was prominent in the early affairs 
of Syracuse, a typical pioneer, a leading citizen, 
active in pubhc works and useful throughout a 
long and honorable career. Harvey Baldwin 



316 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

occupied similar relations. As first Mayor of 
Syracuse he holds a leading place in the city's 
history. He was an accomplished gentleman, 
with broad views, and he had a large part in the 
affairs of his time. 

Other strong men in early Lodi were Thomas 
Eose, the Ostroms, Kufus Stanton and Deacon 
Larabee. 

The village of Lodi was annexed to the vil- 
lage of Syracuse in 1834. At the sale of state 
lands in 1822 a considerable tract lying near For- 
man park was sold for |6 an acre. Other lands 
lying between the turnpike and the canal at the 
foot of Lodi hill sold for 110.50 an acre, the pur- 
chaser agreeing to clear the swamp lands at 
once. The high land at the southeast later be- 
came most valuable residence property, and 
prominent in this beautiful quarter are the uni- 
versity buildings, the Yates castle and many 
private dwellings. 



-rNA/ENXV-T-HIRD F=AF=EF? 

Yariable Territorial Couditious 

Not many of the oldest surviving residents of 
the city of Syracuse recall the contour of terri- 
tory and the variable conditions that existed here 
in the pioneer times; the isolated areas of hard, 
solid land; the extent of creek, lowland and 
swamp, and the natural difficulties which im- 
peded the progress of settlement. Large areas 
of marsh lay at the north of the villages of 
Salina and Syracuse, over which the high waters 
of spring and fall flowed; the Onondaga creek 
was often flooded and overrun its banks ; in what 
is now James street were gulhes and ravines, in 
which floods prevailed at times; in East Genesee 
and West Onondaga streets were cedar swamps 
and morasses, under water much of the year; 
where Fayette and Forman parks now are were 
almost impassable bogs and swales, traversed 
only on corduroy roadways ; in Onondaga street 
vehicles sank over wheels in the highway, and 
to the south and east of the settled districts were 
long stretches of water, mud and sw^ale. Out 
of these conditions a large, fine city has been 
created, elevations have been reduced, depres- 

(317) 



318 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

sions filled, smooth, easy and well-paved streets 
have been constructed, grand business blocks 
and splendid residences erected. In less than 
seventy-five years these great results have been 
achieved through the activity, enterprise and 
perseverance of the settlers. 

The main business street, Salina street, like 
others, was a series of undulations, which under 
a system of scientific engineering have been 
leveled and smoothed ; there and elsewhere gul- 
lies and ravines have been filled and obliterated; 
the creeks and brooks have been turned into the 
great sewers, and freshets and floods made im- 
possible; and a city of regularity, uniformity 
and beauty has been created out of unpromis- 
ing conditions. 

Plan of the City 

The city's plan was shaped by the original 
state roads and turnpikes, which centered and 
diverged at the original business centers. The 
radiating streets, although bewildering to stran- 
gers, afford easy and ready access to the com- 
mon center from the outskirts. The early in- 
habitants brought with them the New England 
love for shade and ornamental trees ; hence the 
fine elms and maples which adorn the streets of 
this beautiful city and make it most attractive. 
It is noted also that the residence premises are 
liberal in extent and that spacious dooryards,. 



MAKING OF THE CITY 319 

handsome lawns and neat garden plots are the 
rule rather than the exception. In most other 
cities the dwellings abut upon the sidewalks, 
quite different from the arrangement of resi- 
dence districts in Syracuse. 

The extent of water courses and of the low 
lands and swamps of original Syracuse is shown 
on the early maps. Herewith are reproduced 
sketches of the old Mill pond the Yellow brook 
and the North side brook, which w^ere much in 
evidence in the pioneer times of this place, but 
which entirely disappeared from view under the 
progress of village and city improvements. Few 
of the present inhabitants know that any such 
things ever existed here, and it is only when 
some relic of the old water courses which bisect- 
ed the original village and were grave obstacles 
to progress and improvement, and the sources of 
malarial disease to a frightful extent, is brought 
to light by preparations for extended building 
that the knowledge of those things of the past 
is revived. 

The Old Mill Pond 
The mill pond which was formed in 1805-7 
for the old red mill by the building of a dam 
first at Genesee and then at Water street, over- 
flowed 100 or more acres of land lying along the 
creek between Genesee and Onondaga streets, 
and from the bluff just east of West street to 



320 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Clinton street. A point of high land extended 
into the pond from the west side, and when this 
was cut down and the surplus earth used in 
filling up the pond, the state armory was built 
upon the site. A new channel was cut on the 
west side, connecting the creek across w4iat had 
been an elbow in its course. The pond was 
deemed the main cause of malarial sickness in 
early Syracuse, and it was declared a nuisance 
by the state, the abatement of which was or- 
dered by the removal of the dam and the filling 
up of the pond. The earth used in filling the 
disused channel was mainly obtained from the 
cutting down of Prospect Hill, which was done 
to fit that hill for the state capitol, then intended 
to be removed to Syracuse. The Armory and 
Armory park, were located and the lots situated 
about the park were sold to repay the expense of 
filling the pond. In the village's earlier years 
the mill pond was much used for boating, and 
a large number of rowboats and skiffs were 
upon its waters. It also was a favorite fishing 
ground, the stone bars on the southerly side be- 
ing good bass grounds, and on the site of the 
Neal & Hyde store was a fine mullet and sucker 
fishing place. Clinton street at Jefferson street 
was wholly under water, and not until the pond 
was filled was this street run direct from Fayette 
to Onondaga street. At the precise place where 




THE MILL POND AND THE YELLOW BROOK 

(Adapted from the Syracuse Company's map of 1819) 



322 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Jefferson crosses Clinton street, Charles Nolton, 
a lad of 17, was drowned by being thrown over 
a horse's head into the pond, and his cousin, 
Gaylord Starin, aged 19, was drowned in the 
near vicinity, while skating, in 1841. Near 
where the Delaware & Lackawanna railroad sta- 
tion stands, Oliver L. Hanchett, son of Dr. J. 
W. Hanchett and brother of M. W. Hanchett, 
was drowned while skating in 1828. Sylvanus, 
son of the late Henry Gifford, was drowned near 
the same place while skating in 1842. These 
several places have been for many years solid 
ground. The filling of the mill pond was ac- 
complished in 1847-8. The cost was $9,000, 
and the thirty lots about the park were sold for 
upwards of 115,000. That improvement, to- 
gether with that effected by the Onondaga creek 
commission later, greatly promoted the pubhc 
health. 

The Yellow Brook 

The Yellow brook originated in the Tamarack 
swamp east of the railroad tunnel in East Wash- 
ignton street, running westward in Water street 
to Lemon street, thence south and southwest, 
crossing Genesee street near Almond street, 
thence southwest across the swamp lands in 
the southerly part of the city, turning west- 
erly and into Warren street near the site of 
the Farmer block, thence into Jefferson and 



AN IMPORTANT STREAM 323 

into the old mill pond of Onondaga creek. 
It flowed through a ravine varying from 
five to fifteen feet in depth. It got its name 
from the color which the clay soil through which 
it flowed gave it. This creek was a considera- 
ble stream from its mouth to beyond the present 
Warren street, sufficiently wide and deep for 
small boats, which the boys of the time navi- 
gated in it. At Sahna street there was a bridge 
over the brook and here it was that the incoming 
stages from the west were espied on their way 
into the village to the stopping places at the- 
taverns. When the Farmer block, Deys' build- 
ing, and Sager's block in Clinton street were 
built the digging for the foundations revealed 
relics of the old Yellow brook. 

The waters of Yellow brook were conveyed 
in part into the railroad sewer in East Washing- 
ton street, but in times of heavy rains this dis- 
charge was insufficient. Eventually the waters, 
of the brook were directed into Fayette, Harri- 
son and Jefferson street sewers. Since about 
184:0 no surface traces of Yellow brook have 
been in sight. 

Besides the Onondaga creek the Yellow brook 
was the most considerable stream within the 
present hmits of Syracuse. It followed a course 
midway of the low and swampy lands in the 
easterly and southerly parts of the old village,, 



324 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and the disposition of its waters was at one time 
a serious question for decision. Who, now look- 
ing over the fine section of the city built over 
the territory through which this stream coursed, 
would conceive that any such waterway ever 
ran in that locality. 

The North Side Brook 

There was on the north side of the Erie canal 
a brook similar to but not as large as Yellow 
brook. It had its rise also in Tamarack swamp, 
and coursing down what now is Canal street, it 
made its way to the Onondaga creek, emptying 
into the creek, with the waters of the flume 
from the old mill pond, just below the High 
school site. This brook also was fed by the riv- 
ulets, which in the rainy season ran down from 
James street hill before that locality was sew- 
ered. When the canal weigh-lock was con- 
structed this brook was utilized to carry away 
the waste water. This made a considerable 
brook, which ran underground at the sites of 
the old County Clerk's office and the state Salt 
office in Sahna street. Back of Church street, 
in the rear of the salt yard, was a considerable 
pond, which for years was a swimming place for 
boys. The stream later was confined within 
stone walls. The culvert of discharge from the 
weighlock was uncovered in recent work of en- 
largement of the canals, at the intersection of 



BASINS OF THE CANALS 325 

the Erie and Oswego canals. From the weigh- 
lock to the Onondaga creek no surface evidence 
of the existence of this brook has been seen in 
the last forty years. 

Canal Basins 
When the Erie canal was constructed what 
was called the Salina basin was built on the 
north side of the canal at the point of junction 
with the Sahna extension (afterwards the Os- 
wego canal). It occupied the space where now 
stands Andrews Brothers' store, the Durston and 
the intermediate waterway to the Erie canal. 
This later was the Durston dry dock, but occu- 
pying less space. It originally was the tying-up 
place for boats engaged in the salt trade. 

Opposite, south, was what was called the 
South basin, which extended from the canal 100 
feet wide to the north hne of Washington street. 
It was surrounded with cedar bushes. On the 
easterly side was Parley Howlett's packing 
house, where now is the Windsor house. In 
1845 the basin was declared a nuisance and its 
aboUtion decreed. The site was bought for a 
public market, which was erected, becoming 
Market hall, on the location of which the City 
hall now stands. 

There was a side canal in the old Fifth ward 
in the '40s, running from the Erie canal through 
the solar salt works to Gifford street. It was 




■t./_f<cr7 « " ^^ .v\ \ 



<^ 






Trry-'- 



nm 



^AY£ c^ TTS <t Jr. Ui 




S| — 



THE NORTH SIDE BROOK, "AA " 
(Now the weigh-lock waste conduit. Reproduced from the Village map of 1834) 



A HISTORICAL BROOK 327 



designed to facilitate the shipment of salt from 
those yards, but never was of much service. 
The demand of the lands for private residences 
led to the filling up of this ditch. 

Side-cut canals were constructed for the salt 
works at Salina, soon after the Erie canal was 
built. They have been in use for many years. 
Harbor Brook 
Harbor brook is a natural stream taking its 
rise in the vicinity of Split Rock, running 
through the valley towards the city past Burnet 
park, and winding to the northwest, empties 
into Onondaga lake. It has been a very pretty 
stream, formerly famous for its fine trout, but 
latterly has been contaminated by the sewage of 
the locality. The mouth of this brook has a 
place in the history of the county, as being the 
place where Sir John Johnson's party of Indians 
and Tories, on an incursion into the Mohawk 
valley, in 1779, took refuge in the bushes and 
brakes and escaped their pursuers. The retreat 
is deUneated in an old painting in possession of 
the Onondaga Historical association. Doctor 
Beauchamp thinks this narrative, as related by 
Clark, is confused with an affair, duly authenti- 
cated, which occurred on Chittenango creek. 

There are in the town of Sahna a Mud creek 
and Bear Trap creek, near the northerly borders 
of the city limits, which are good-sized streams 



328 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

runniag through the low marsh-lands of that 
locality. They empty into the lake, and never 
have had any relation to the adjacent city, but 
they figured mildly in connection with the early 
military operations in that vicinity. 

A Wise Foresight and Provision 

Clark's history, in the chapter on early Syra- 
cuse, states that " during the building of the 
Erie canal, from 1817 to 1820, the sickness was 
terrible. No estimate can be made of the fatali- 
ties of disease in that time. To the far-seeing 
mind of Judge Forman something was to be 
done to improve the health of the place, or his 
plans would fail; accordingly, during the winter 
of 1821-22, he procured the passage of a law, in 
connection with one authorizing the lowering of 
Onondaga lake, by which the commissioners of 
the Land office were to draw a map of the 
swamp and marsh about Syracuse and Salina. 
This map was to designate the route of several 
ditches or drains through the swamp and marsh- 
lands, with an accompanying estimate of the 
sum necessary to be raised to effect such object. 
The judges of the County court were authorized 
to appoint three discreet freeholders of the 
county, who should assess the amount of money 
necessary to be raised on the owners of the lands 
contiguous to the drains, in proportion as they 
were supposed to be benefited. In case of non- 



forman's wise action 329 

payment, provision was made for the sale and 
subsequent redemption of lands. Citizens were 
allowed to build their own ditches, or the com- 
missioners were empowered to build them and 
collect the expense. It was an arbitrary law; 
but it seemed to be the only plan under which 
the improvement could be effected. In the sum- 
mer of 1822 the lands were drained, and at once 
the public health began to improve, disease and 
sickness diminished, confidence was restored in 
the future and the past was quickly forgotten. 
The prosperity of Syracuse was placed on an 
assured foundation." Clark in vivid words pic- 
tures the changes of a quarter of a century, 
and notes that " the time had been so short that 
it is difficult to reahze that so great a change has 
been wrought. "***'' in less than a generation 
of men a city has sprung up from a loathsome 
swamp, where, least of all, the traveller would 
dream of such an event." Clark's prediction, 
unfortunately not realized, was that ' ' in less 
than another quarter of a century the capitol of 
the Empire state would be located in the Central 
City." 



-r\A/ENT"V-F=-C3UFR-rH F=AF=EF=R 

Sociability in the Olden Times 

Pioneer society and sociability were distin- 
guishing traits of the time ; the people were few 
and scattered, but the homes were generous, 
acquaintance was general; everybody dehghted 
to make everybody else comfortable and happy ; 
the latchstring was out at every door, and the 
welcome within was most cordial. Read the 
accounts of the first Danforth household at the 
Hollow, and there you will see that all comers 
were greeted and entertained without money 
and without price. Rest, lodgings and meals 
were free to the stranger. So it was all the way 
round ; at the Hill, at Pompey, at Salina and at 
Syracuse. There were no more delightful social 
relations and more whole-hearted hospitality 
than in the pioneer settlements in the Onondaga 
country. 

In early Salina, around Washington park and 
the vicinity ; in early Syracuse, first in the cen- 
ter round about the old red mill, the early 
churches, and the school-house, in Church street, 
in Genesee and Franklin streets and a little later 
in Clinton, Water and Salina streets, there were 

(330) 



HOME LIFE AND SOCIETY 331 

princely men and noble women who made it the 
delight of their lives to extend social courtesies 
to friends and neighbors, and by mutual socia- 
bility get all the pleasure and satisfaction possi- 
ble out of life in its relations to others. 

The home hfe was a distinguishing character- 
istic of the pioneer time. It developed domestic 
and social traits of fine effect and charming real- 
izations. It was a natural condition and produc- 
tive of the highest social enjoyment. By the 
lack of this trait in later times and the existence 
of artificial conditions, a most wholesome influ- 
ence is lost from modern social existence. With 
all the progress of the nineteenth century there 
still are respects, in the home circle, in which 
the preceding generations had advantages. The 
old-time home hfe is something to be respected 
and honored. 

Social Centers 

There came into the social lives of the inhabi- 
tants here, after the village incorporations, some- 
thing more of system or organization, and the 
httle communities that grew up in old Water 
street, in Salina street, in Foot street and about 
Fayette park became more distinctively social 
centers, and society functions and the rule of 
fashion were intensified. There was as early as 
1830 a recognized coterie of fashion in the vil- 
lages, but it was not of arrogant aristocracy. 



332 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

There were old families and high-toned families^ 
but there were no unduly rich ones, whose claim 
to precedence was in money only. 

The old Mansion house, with its added third 
story, had its dancing hall at the top, and many 
events of sociability were held there. The Syra- 
cuse house, when rebuilt, had its saloon in the 
upper floor, and there were held for years most 
of the swell functions of the palmy days of vil- 
lage life. There were held the famous series of 
inauguration balls, which celebrated the intro- 
duction of Jackson (1829-33), Van Buren (1837) 
and Harrison (1841) into office. There also 
were held many of the early military balls, 
which were great affairs in their time. At 
those balls the new brides and the rosebuds 
were introduced to Syracuse society, and many 
are the pleasant recollections of the new couples 
who were given the place of honor in the grand 
promenades. The handsome young brides and 
their bridal dresses and finery were for many a 
long year the subject of elaborate description in 
female coteries. A goodly record of these has 
gone into Mrs. Hatch's historical portiere, and 
many of the prominent men and most respected 
women of this time will find their antecedents 
in that record. 

Christmas festivities. New Year balls, and the 
military balls on Washington's birthday were 



NOTABLE FUNCTIONS 333 

grand occasions, which called out the people of 
society and fashion. The grand parties at pri- 
vate residences, often taking the form of mas- 
querades, are fondly cherished memories of the 
days of auld lang syne, in the recollections of 
the oldest inhabitants. It seems that no such 
scenes of gaity and pleasure have been the lot 
of more recent generations. 

Early Time Balls 

The chronicles at command contain references 
to the following balls of note in the neighbor- 
hood of the present Syracuse: 

" National jubilee— Fiftieth anniversary of 
American Independence, at Onondaga Hollow, 
June 19th, 1826, at C. Tyler's assembly rooms." 
Thaddeus M. Wood, K. Wool worth 0. I. West, 
A. B. Potter, M. Olmsted and J. Andrews, man- 
agers. 

" New Year's ball at the house of Kneeland 
Sweet, in Pompey, January 2d, 1821, to partici- 
pate in the pleasures of a social ball." " Come 
and trip it as you go. On the light, fantastic 
toe. ' ' Freeman Richardson, Elihu Clement, Ab- 
ner Stevens, managers. 

" MiUtary ball at Manlius, January 8th, 1832. 
Colonel Hicks Worden, Col. R. T. Reed, Captains 
N. H. Kinne, Emerson Kinne, J. C. Kinne, Henry 
Shattuck, B. C. Beard, Maj. W. A. Cook and 



334 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

other officers of the One Hundred and Seventy- 
sixth regiment, managers, all of Manlius. 

Early Balls in Syracuse 

" Military ball, at the saloon of the Syracuse 
house, January 9th, 1821." Its list of managers 
included Maj. Gen. Thaddeus M. Wood, Brig. 
Gen. Orin Hutchinson, Col. Martin Woodruff, 
Col. Grove Lawrence, Col. Daniel Earll, Col. 
Johnson Hall, Col. D. B. Bickford, Lieut. Col. E. 
D. Hopping, Maj. W. A. Cook, Captains Silas 
Ames, W. D. Stewart, Seth Hutchinson, J. M. 
Ellis, E. W. Leavenworth, Ezra Town and J. 
Day. Accounts of the time show that this was 
in fact a grand ball. 

" Mechanics' Cotillion party, at D. Comstock's 
assembly room, February 12th, 1830." " United 
we stand, divided we fall ' ' was the motto on 
the cards of the invitation. James Webb, Par- 
ley Bassett, Calvin Riley, John Rogers, A. S. 
Tilden, Thomas J. Field, Joseph Edwards, Jabez. 
Hawley, Waterman Chapman and Abram Har- 
ris were the managers. The affair was the indi- 
cation of social schism in the young community. 

" Washington's Birthday Ball, in Saloon of 
Syracuse house, February 21, 1831:." This was 
one of the most brilliant balls in the early 
years of the village. Maj. Gen. Oren Hutchin- 
son, Brig. Gen. Grove Lawrence, Brig. Gen. J. 
Richmond, Brig. Gen. D. Hugunin, Col. Thad- 



MORE LEADING EVENTS 335 

deus M. Wood, Col. Martin Woodruff, Lieut. 
Col. E. D. Hopping, Col. D. T. Jones, Majs. Henry 
Davis, jr., William A. Cook, C. C. Richardson 
and M. Williams and Capt. Joseph Ehodes were 
managers. This was a distinguished military 
array. Hopping became a Brigadier-General in 
the army in Mexico and died in the service; 
Woodruff' entered heart and soul into the libera- 
tion of Canada in the patriot war of 1837, was 
captured at the battle of the Windmill, opposite 
Ogdensburg, and was executed by his captors. 
Others attained distinction in civil life. 

" Independence Ball, at Bennet's saloon, 
Frankhn building, Syracuse, July 4, 1836." 
H. Baldwin, A. Burt, E. L. PhiUips, H. Eaynor, 
R. A. Yoe, W. Jackson, Dean Richmond, Amos 
P. Granger, E. B. Wicks, H. Davis, jr., J. I. 
Bradley, W. W. Teall, T. G. Alvord were the 
general committee; W. W. Teall, W. Tousley 
and others, acting committee. 

" Military Ball at Bennet's rooms, February 
22, 1836." Major- General Hutchinson and staff, 
managers. 

' ' W^ashington Ball at Syracuse house saloon, 
February 22, 1810. B. Davis Noxon, D. S. Col- 
vin, Aaron Burt, L. H. Redfield, D. D. Hillis, 
Hamilton White, Joseph Savage, Daniel Pratt, 
Alfred H. Hovey, Peter Cutwater, jr., H. Shel- 
don, J. B. Burnet, G. W. Noxon, A. T. Butler, 



336 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Jasper Smith, D. P. Phelps, G. J. Gardner, 
Thomas Earll, George Ray nor, Charles Earll, W. 
W. Teah, J. W. Barker, L. W. Marsh and Joel 
Cody were managers. 

" Washington Artillery, first annual ball at 
Malcolm hall, January 14th, 1850." Majors 
Baldwin and Leavenworth, the city aldermen, 
Capt. J. Springer and Serg't Jacob Amos were 
of the managers. 

" Syracuse Cadets, first annual ball. Library 
hall, Februry 22d, 1844." Lieut. W. B. Olmsted 
and other ofiicers managers. Officers of Fifty- 
first regiment honorary managers. 

" Syracuse Citizens' Corps, first annual ball 
at Library hall; December 31st, 1843. Second 
ball, same place, 1844. Third ball at Empire 
house, January 15th, 1846." Thence after for a 
series of years the S. C. C. regularly held its an-^ 
nual balls, which always were popular and suc- 
cessful. 

" Syracuse Light Dragoons, first annual ball, 
at Myers' hall, December 13th, 1855." Capt. 
A. H. Hovey, Lieuts. H. D. Hatch, and J. S. 
Graham, Serg'ts E. T. Wright and H. M. Barker, 
Silas Titus, L. Brigham, 0. W. Titus, I. H. Bron- 
ner, J. B. Pierce, managers. Maj, Gen. W. C. 
Brown and staff honorary managers, including 
Maj. R. M. Richardson, J. M. Taylor and R. H. 



A POLITICAL BALL 337 

Nolton, Capts. F. P. Minier, E. L. Walrath and 
J. Dean Hawley." 

Regimental balls were given by the officers 
and privates of the Fifty-first regiment. National 
Guard, in a succession of years. An invitation 
to the ball of February 22d, 1860, contains the 
names of Maj. Gen. Henry A. Barnum and staff, 
with Cols. J. D. Hawley, J. C. Bennett and J. 
M. Strong as honorary managers. 

A poHtical ball was that of " The Silver 
Grays," held at the Salina house, January 8th, 
18i9, when the managers were as follows : James 
Lynch, Richard Sanger, Benjamin F. Green, 
Dennis McCarthy, Miles W. Bennett, William 
Dallman, Patrick D. Lynch, WiUiam A. Porter, 
Alonzo Crippen, Ira H. Wilhams, Fred Morele, 
Charles B. Scott, Charles L. Annas, Elizur Clark, 
C. B. Williams, Latham Y. Avery, Noah Wood, 
John Barron, Silas Titus, S. R. Mathews, 0. W. 
Childs, Edwin Hills, N. M. Childs, Harvey Hath- 
away, John McCarthy, Thomas G. Alvord. Rich- 
ard Sanger was room manager, with Cornelius 
L. Alvord, Henry Dallman, Chauncey B. Clark, 
Charles Wheeler, Charles H. Gage, Orville H. 
Childs, Michael E. Lynch, William Benham, and 
Philander Giles, assistants. The ball was a 
great success. 

Firemen's balls, leap year and fancy dress 
balls, since IS-tO, are numerous, and the full 



338 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

record would present a very interesting history 
of the social events of a general public charac- 
ter. The " Cobleighs " and the series of great 
charity balls would add much to the chronicles 
of the social side of Syracuse as village and city. 

Teachers of Deportment 

In 1835 Harvey Bennett, teacher of dancing 
and deportment, gave lessons at his academy in 
Perkin's hall, (in the old Syracuse hotel, on the 
site of the present First Presbyterian church). 
He taught quadrilles, mascalonze, mazourkas, 
waltzes, Spanish dances, contra dances, ukrane, 
Tyrolese dances, tredrilles and Swedish figures. 

In 1852 W. B. Smith had his dancing acad- 
emy in Filkin's hall, east end of Franklin build- 
ing, and later in Library hall. His list was all 
the dances, waltzes and gallopadings. The 
teacher, heavy and stout, was a very hght- 
footed person. 

In the '50s and '60s Cobleigh was the popular 
dancing teacher in Syracuse. The " Cobleighs' 
and^'his dancing school form pleasant recollec- 
tions with very many people in and about Syra- 
cuse. 



-r\A/ENTV-F'IF='TH F='AF»ER 

Onoudaga Courts and Bar 

The courts and the bar of Onondaga county 
form an interesting study. While this county 
was still a part of Herkimer county, the courts 
were held at the church in the village of Herki- 
mer, and after the county's organization, in 1794,. 
civil and criminal prisoners were confined in the 
Herkimer county jail. There were no lawyers 
in the new county constituting the Mihtary Tract 
at its organization, and no court house or other 
county buildings. The first court held in Onon- 
daga county had its session in Gen. Asa Dan- 
forth's corn-house at Onondaga Hollow, on the 
first Monday in May, 1794, and the first court of 
Oyer and Terminer was held at Danforth's house' 
July 21st of the same year. One indictment, 
was found, for assault and battery with intent 
to rob, and conviction followed. Later courts 
alternated between the Hollow and Scipio until 
ISOo, when the court house of Onondaga Hill 
was so far completed as to allow courts being 
held there. With the new century lawyers 
came into the county, and the bar of Onondaga 
began to assume the prominence and strength 

(339) 



340 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

which were recognized attributes of it in after 
years. 

The Early Courts and Judges 

The Court house and jail at the Hill were com- 
pleted in 1807, and courts were held there till 
1830, when the county buildings were located at 
Syracuse. The County Clerk's office was first 
kept at the Hollow, in private residences or busi- 
ness places, until 1813, when a clerk's office was 
erected at the Hill, and in 1830 was located at 
Syracuse. Egbert Benson held the first court of 
Oyer and Terminer. He was a resident of Ja- 
maica, L. 1., and a very prominent man. Be- 
sides being a Judge of the Supreme court he was 
Attorney-General of the state, Member of the 
Legislature, of Congress and of the Continental 
Congress, and of the Council of Safety, a Judge 
of the United States Circuit court and Deputy in 
the conventions which resulted in New York ac- 
cepting the Federal constitution. Other Judges 
who served in the early Onondaga courts were 
James Kent and John Lansing, who were later 
Chancellors of the state Court of Chancery, 
The First Court House and Jail 

In 1801, when measures were adopted for the 
building of a Court house for Onondaga county, 
a lively competition took place between the Hill 
and the Hollow, with the result that the Hill won 
the prize. The Court house then erected was 




JUDGE EARLL'S OFFICE AT ONONDAGA HILL 



342 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

located on the plot of ground to the northward 
of what was known as the ' ' upper tavern, ' ' then 
in a dense forest, and was a substantial frame 
building, 50 feet square and two stories high, 
with a square roof sloping to the four sides. 
The jail was under the same roof. The court 
room was on the second floor as were apart- 
ments for the jailer's family. The cells of the 
jail on the first floor were of oak plank, filled 
with wrought-iron spikes. The cost of the build- 
ing was about $10,000. The commissioners in 
whose charge was placed the construction of the 
building were Elisha Lewis, Medad Curtis and 
Thaddeus Wood. It was not until 1810 that the 
structure was completed. James Beebe, a Rev- 
olutionary soldier, was the first jailer, and was 
succeeded by Mason Butts. After its disuse it 
speedily fell into decay. In 1813 the County 
Clerk's office was established on a site adjacent 
to the Court house at the Hill. It was a 1 -story 
structure, 18 by 25 feet. This served its purpose 
until the county buildings were removed to Syra- 
cuse in 1829. 

The small structures which were occupied as 
law offices by B. Davis Noxon and James R. 
Lawrence still stand near the site of the old 
Court house at Onondaga Hill. 

Syracuse Made the County Seat 

The definite location of the county buildings 



COUNTY BUILDINGS LOCATED 343 

at Syracuse was effected after a very spirited 
contest, in which the people of the whole county 
took a part. The decision was reached by legis- 
lative action brought about by a large number 
of petitions from all parts of the county in favor 
of the removal. This was promoted by the ac- 
tivity of the Syracuse company. On March 
19th, 1827, it was decided by state legislation 
that the county buildings should be removed to 
a new site, to be determined by the Board of 
Supervisors. At once the competition between 
Salina and Syracuse took an active shape. Both 
localities offered building sites and other induce- 
ments. The Syracuse company's offer was the 
entire block, excepting the corner then occupied 
by the First Presbyterian church, which now in- 
cludes the Government building, the University 
building and the White Memorial building. 
There also was offered an adjacent site for the 
County jail, and Gen. Amos P. Granger offered to 
build a fireproof Clerk's office building and to 
contribute $1,000 to the cost of the new Court 
house. Salina's offers were generous, but more 
modest, and they resulted in a proposition to lo- 
cate the Court house and jail midway between 
the two villages, and this project prevailed in 
the Board of Supervisors by a majority of one. 
The Court house was erected in 1829-30, at a 
cost of $27,000. It was of brick, 64 feet square 



COURT HOUSE AND JAIL 345 

and two stories high. The lower floor was 
divided equally by halls running from north to 
south and east to west, with a room in each of 
the four corners, which were occupied by pub- 
lic offices. In the second story were the court 
room and small ante-rooms. It was quite an 
imposing building, prominently located at a bend 
in North Salina street and was in good view all 
the length of Salina street as far as Onondaga 
street. The jail, standing near, of stone, was 
fifty feet square and two stories high. The 
jailer's family occupied the south half and strong 
stone cells the north half of the first floor. In 
the second story were apartments for debtors, 
witnesses, etc. Judge Nehemiah H. Earll held 
the first court in this building, in May, 1830. 
Opposite the Court house on the corner of Salina 
and Ash streets was the fine residence of James 
R. Lawrence, and on the opposite side of Salina 
street was the Center house, long a hotel of some 
importance. 

Agitatiou for a New Court House 

Inconvenient as was the location of the Court 
house is was put up with until 1845, when an 
agitation for a new location was begun and con- 
tinued for ten years, during which time many 
suggestions were made and considered. In 1855 
the Board of Supervisors, for economic reasons, 
voted down the special committee's report favor- 



346 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ing a plan for a new location and new building. 
On February 5th, 1856, the old Court house 
building was destroyed by an incendiary fire, 
which promoted the project of a new location 
and made necessary a new structure. 

Locating the Present Court House 

After much negotiating, the old site was ex- 
changed for a new one on the corner of West 
Genesee and Clinton streets, and the present 
Court house, at the time considered a very fine 
building, constructed of Onondaga limestone and 
well arranged for the accommodation of courts, 
was built at a cost of 138,000. It has been oc- 
cupied ever since 1857, and with many changes 
since made it has answered its purposes; but 
now it is the demand of the courts, the bar and 
the people that a larger building, with suitable 
accommodations, shall supersede it. Adjoining 
the Court house is a building for the Court of 
Appeals Library, Judges' Chambers and some 
pubhc offices. 

The County Clerk's Office 

On the location of the county buildings at 
Syracuse a small structure for the County Clerk's 
office was erected at the corner of North Salina 
and Willow streets. This was supplanted by a 
larger building, for the Clerk's office. Surrogate's 
office and Board of Supervisors, in 1853, which 
was occupied till 1880, when the present County 



FAMOUS TRIALS 347 

'Clerk's buildiDg at the corner of North CHnton 
and Willow streets, was erected, and ever since 
has been occupied. The Board of Supervisors 
hall, the Surrogate's and other pubhc offices are 
in this building. 

The Onondaga County Bar 

The list of the members of the bar of Onon- 
daga county contains many eminent names. 
During the past seventy- five years no bar of an 
interior county has surpassed, and few have 
equaled, that of this county. The old court 
houses at the Hill and in Syracuse witnessed 
many remarkable trials, and the ability, learning 
and research of the attorneys were in many in- 
stances of the highest order. 

In the old Court house in Syracuse occurred 
the trial and conviction of the colored man. 
Freeman, the wife murderer, and in the jail yard 
his execution followed, the first in the county, 
in 1841. There also occurred the famous trial 
of Alfred Fyler, for wife murder, in 1855, his 
conviction and sentence to be executed; but 
after a year in the state lunatic asylum, he 
walked out of the Court house a free man, 
through a legal technicality. 

In the later Court house there also was an im- 
portant series of civil and criminal trials, and 
among the latter were : That of Frahch for the 
murder of Shafer, his conviction and execution 



348 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

in the Penitentiary yard ; that of Casey, for the 
murder of Johnson at Collamer, wliich resulted 
in his conviction and sentence to hang, which 
was interfered with by a commutation by Gov- 
ernor Hoffman to hfe imprisonment, and a par- 
don after nineteen years' service in state prison; 
that of Lindsay, for the murder of Colvin, near 
Baldwinsville, for which he was convicted and 
executed in the Penitentiary yard; and that of 
Greenfield, for wife murder at Orwell, Oswego 
county, for which, after several trials, he w^as 
convicted and executed in the Penitentiary cor- 
ridor. Since then there has been no capital con- 
viction or expiation in Onondaga county. 

In the newer Court house, in the past forty 
years, many trials of great public interest have 
occurred, the recitation of which would cover 
the local judicial history for that eventful period. 

The Early Onondaga Bar 

Sixty-five years ago the Onondaga Bar em- 
braced the following named attorneys and coun- 
selors: John Wilkinson, Harvey Baldwin, John 
G. Forbes, E. W. Leavenworth, B. Davis Noxon, 
Peter Outwater, jr., Henry Davis, jr., Schuyler 
Strong, Richard vYoolworth, and Charles A. 
Baker of Syracuse; Thaddeus M. Wood, Daniel 
Moseley, Jonas Earll, Samuel Forman and Wil- 
liam H. Sabine of Onondaga ; Victory Birdseye, 
Daniel Gott and Daniel Wood of Pompey;, 



A DISTINGUISHED ARRAY 319 

David D. Hillis, Grove Lawrence and James R. 
Lawrence of Camillus; Samuel H. Hammond 
and Isaac T. Minard of Baldwinsville ; Nicholas 
P. Randall, Samuel L. Edwards, John Fleming, 
Leroy Morgan and Henry C. Van Schaack of 
Manlius; Sanford C. Parker and George C. Stans- 
bury of Marcellus ; Freeborn G. Jewett, Augus- 
tus Kellogg, Daniel Kellogg and Lewis H. San- 
ford of Skaneateles ; Thomas G. Alvord, Jerome 
J. Briggs, Enos D. Hopping and A. C. Griswold 
of Salina; Reuben Farnum of Elbridge, Hicks 
Worden of Fayetteville, Elijah W. Curtis of 
Geddes and William Porter of Jordan. 

A Brilliant Galaxy 

This was, indeed, a distinguished array of 
legal and forensic ability ; followed by the larger 
and even stronger bar in the 40's and 50's, which 
included many survivors of the above list, with 
the addition of these and others: Charles B. 
Sedgwick, Daniel Pratt, David J. Mitchell, 
George F. Comstock, Charles Andrews, Thomas 
T. Davis, George N. Kennedy, Henry J. Sedg- 
wick, James Noxon, Harvey Sheldon, John Ru- 
ger, Wilham J. Hough, James W. Nye, L. Har- 
ris Hiscock, Frank Hiscock, Wilham J. Wallace, 
Joseph T. Sabine, Henry S. Fuller, N. F. Graves, 
Daniel F. Gott, Hamilton Burdick, James S. 
Leach, C. M. Brosuau, Richard Rayner, Daniel 
P. Wood, R. H. Gardner, Israel S. Spencer, 



350 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Henry Reigel, Z. L. Beebe. Since 1860 the- 
Onondaga bar has occupied an exceptional prom- 
inence; but the memories of the preceding half- 
century are still fresh in story and tradition. 
There were giants in the days when Thaddeus 
M, Wood, Medad Curtis, Joshua Forman, George 
Hall, Moses DeWitt and Jasper Hopper were the 
bright particular stars of the legal fraternity; 
so again when the learned Comstock, the well- 
equipped Forbes, Randall, Pratt, Birdseye and 
Gott were leading lights of the profession; the 
brilliant Hillis and the witty Nye ran their me- 
teoric courses ; the versatile and profound Sedg- 
wick, the resourceful Ruger, and the resplen- 
dent Mitchell held bench, bar and juries spell- 
bound with their eloquence. The long line of 
jurists which has adorned the bench of the state 
has added glory to the legal equipment and fame 
of the sons of Onondaga. The legislative bodies 
at Albany and Washington have benefited from 
the ability and learning of the Onondaga bar, 
whose members have done most valued service 
in those relations for the state and nation. And 
the record of the recent past, since the judiciary 
reorganization effected in 1870, has been not less 
luminous and creditable. 

Remarks in Conclusion 

This series of Pioneer Papers, originally in- 
tended to consist of half a dozen numbers, has. 



PURPOSE OF THESE PAPERS 351 

extended to twenty-five ; and although the sub- 
jects of interest embraced in the pioneer period are 
far from exhausted, it is beheved by the writer 
that the principal topics have been touched up- 
on, and largely the interest in the subject ex- 
pended. The purpose was to make a record of 
events, incidents and characters of the pioneer 
settlements in the Onondaga country, and to 
bring together for preservation historical ac- 
counts which if not now preserved would very 
soon be lost to historic research. Some papers 
on specific subjects may later be pubhshed. 

The preparation of these papers has been a 
work of pleasure. The endeavor was to gather 
and preserve matters of importance in local his- 
tory, now accessible but soon to be beyond reach. 
Although the papers are only a plain record of 
fact and incident, yet they have served to bring 
many people into closer touch with the subject 
and to arouse an interest in its broad field of 
inquiry. It has been a gratifying surprise to 
discover how well some of the pioneers were per- 
sonally known to living persons, and also that 
early affairs are so near to us. In this beautiful 
valley of the Onondaga, with ail its evidences of 
progress, it is scarcely reahzed that 115 years 
cover the first white settlements, and yet here 
we enjoy the civilization of a thousand years. 
Few localities on this continent present as re- 



352 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

sourcefal a historical field, including the aborigi- 
nal legends and traditions for 300 years, and the 
religious and colonization propagandism of 150 
years, followed by the New England settlements 
in the past century. Half a century ago a good 
history of this region was written; it is now 
time that this history was revised and brought 
down to the present time. 

In the course of the publication of these pa- 
pers some errors have occurred. An object of 
the publications was to call out the detection of 
inaccuracies that had been committed and to 
correct as far as possible existing errors as to 
occurrences of interest. 

William Kirkpatrick calls attention to the 
origin of the names of certain streets in old 
Salina. He corrects the impression of Clark and 
other writers, that Bear and Wolf streets w^ere 
named after Bear and Wolf paths given because 
of the frequency of those wild animals in these 
localities. He states that Bear, Wolf and Turtle 
streets were so called after the names of tribes 
of the Onondaga nation. 

George K. Collins states that the Syracuse High 
school was organized 1854:, under the first prin- 
cipal, Charles O. Eoundy, who for twenty-one 
years was at the head of that institution. 

John M. Strong states that his father, Oliver 
E. Strong, was the first president of the Onon- 



THE HIGH SCHOOL 353 

daga County bank, at Syracuse, the first bank 
in the county, in 1830, and so continued till his 
resignation in 1842. Moses S. Marsh was the 
first cashier. 

A High school department was organized in 
old No. 5, Prescott school, in J 851, with Charles 
0. Roundy in charge, and he continued its prin- 
cipal for twenty -one years. In 1855 it was re- 
moved to old No. 4, in Church street; then to 
the Pike block, corner of Salina and Fayette 
streets ; then to the Greeley block, corner of War- 
ren and Fayette streets, and then took up its 
permanent quarters in the High school building, 
built in 1869, in West Genesee street. The High 
school was a gradual innovation. 

There was much opposition to the introduc- 
tion into the common school system of any fea- 
tures of the higher education; then there was 
antagonism to the proposed large expenditure 
for the higher department; and the enterprise 
had to live down these elements of anti-progress, 
but finally it triumphed. 

The Syracuse High school has been a success 
from the beginning. It long has held a high 
rank among the secondary schools in the state. 
The principals since Mr. Roundy have been : W. 
A. Brownell, Samuel Thurber, George A. Bacon 
and William K. Wickes. 

The history of the public schools of Syracuse 



354 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

has been written by Edward Smith, who has 
been a teacher in these schools since the school 
system of Syracuse was organized under the act 
of the legislature April 12th, 1848. One other 
of the original teachers survives, W. W, New- 
man, now of South Onondaga. 

In the preparation of this series of Pioneer 
Papers, valuable assistance has been rendered by 
Dr. William M. Beauchamp, M. W. Hanchett 
and George J. Gardner, the best authorities on 
early local history; Mrs. W. H. H. Smith, who 
has at command a mass of valuable material; 
Clark's History of Onondaga, and the Memorial 
History of Syracuse and the Centennial His- 
tory of Onondaga county. The Syracuse Her- 
ald company has greatly promoted the work. 
In illustrations and new material much has been 
added to the stock of original local historical in- 
formation. Many applications are received for 
the publication of the papers in permanent form. 



THE -rilVIE© AND THE MAN 
A Chapter by the Hon. Charles E. Fitch 

Very appropriately, the address delivered at a 
memorial meeting of the Onondaga Historical 
association on the evening of December 4, 1903^ 
by the Hon. Charles E. Fitch, in tribute to the 
late Carroll E. Smith, who at the time of his. 
death was president of that organization, is ap- 
pended as an added chapter to " Pioneer Times 
in the Onondaga Country." This is true in a 
twofold sense. Not alone does Mr. Fitch pay 
merited eulogy to the memory of Mr. Smith, but 
in so doing cites interesting history which, it will 
be observed, enhances the value of what has ap- 
peared upon the pages of this volume proper. 
The'speaker is splendidly qualified for the earnest 
and eloquent effort and his contribution to this 
work cannot fail to receive due appreciation from 
those who read these chapters. Mr. Fitch said : 

" I know of no life so intimately associated 
with the life of Syracuse and Onondaga county 
— their genesis, their growth, their social ameni- 
ties, their political conflicts, their memories and 
their achievements — as that of Carroll Earll 
Smith. As the span of his hfe lengthened into 

(355) 




CARROLL E. SMITH 

(From a photograph taken at the time he was most 
active as the editor of the Syracuse Journal) 



RETROSPECTIVE 357 

its three score years and ten, and as, in the re- 
view, he saw the forests how to the fertile acres 
and the village expand into the city, he might well 
exclaim, ' a great part of which I was and all of 
which I saw.' 

" Syracuse was his by birth, on Christmas day 
now seventy-one years ago. The hamlet which, 
in the vision of Joshua Forman, was to be a 
metropolis, had already become a busy, bustling 
town, by which the salt springs, the original 
source of its prosperity, bubbled, and through 
which the inland water course cut its way from 
the Erie to the Atlantic. Hanover square was 
the center of business activities and from it radi- 
ated the principal residential streets— Genesee 
and Salina and Water— while, on either side, 
were Church and Fayette, and James stragghng 
toward the outlying fields. Fayette Park was 
not projected. Farms lined the Cinder road to 
Onondaga Valley, where were the homes of 
some of the most prominent men in the county. 
His boyhood was passed here, during the period 
that the village was developing into the munici- 
pality, a period which now thrills responsive to 
the tender recollections of those who, with fal- 
tering steps and dimming eyes, have been per- 
mitted to cross the threshold of the twentieth 
century. Is it simply the glamour of age, the 
fond backward look, the far perspective, that 



358 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

beautifies the vanished time and, in the mellow 
haze, invests it with such subtle charm, or did it 
really hold something better and truer and 
sweeter than that of the cosmopolitan spirit 
which informs and the complex civilization, 
with all the momentous, and even terrible, soci- 
ological and economic entangleinents with which 
it has to deal, that signalize this wonder-work- 
ing epoch ? I cannot answer. The spell pos- 
sesses me, and I yield to the delusion, if delusion 
it be; and I know that he, of whom I am to 
speak, confessed to the allurement and always 
referred to it endearingly. Of that time, he was 
the clearest observer and most industrious chron- 
icler. He clung to it as the ivy to the oak ; he 
vaunted it as ardently as the lark sings to the 
sunlight. What was the life of that time ? If 
it was narrower in its scope than that of the 
present, its ties were closer and its sympathies 
more acute. If it was less luxurious, it was 
also less fretful, and its ministrations were more 
unselfish, although this is the day of plenteous 
beneficences and magnificent charities. The 
members of the community knew each other 
and neighbor greeted neighbor. Entertaining, 
although less an art, was not less a service, and, 
if not ornate and lavish, was kindly and of good 
cheer. It was the day when thrift waited upon 
honest toil, if not that of colossal fortunes, too 



BUILDERS OF SYRACUSE 359 

often the outcome of speculation and fraud and 
intrigue. It was the day of the pioneers and 
founders, of the makers of homes, of a demo- 
cratic aristocracy, not without its refinements 
and courtesies and chivalries, that needed no 
patent of nobihty, nor stamp of wealth, as the 
certificate of its quality. 

" The pioneers of Onondaga, the builders of 
Syracuse, were mainly of New England origin, 
a portion of the mighty Puritan forces which, 
with the close of the Revolutionary war, began 
the march from Plymouth rock to Puget sound, 
dropping from their ranks, at various stations, 
recruits for the American civilization that the 
coming years were to witness, with all of Puri- 
tan pluck and virtue in forming, and much of 
Puritan austerity and intolerance eliminated 
from it, as, like another Antaeus, it was refresh- 
ed and purified as it touched the newer soil. It 
left contingents in New York, at Utica and 
Whitestown and Manlius and Onondaga and 
Syracuse and Canandaigua and Rochester and 
Batavia, as it swept beyond the Alleganies, over 
the Western Reserve and the territory which the 
ordinance of 1787 had dedicated to freedom, and 
onward, still onward, to the Pacific slope, carry- 
ing with it the axe and the plane, the plow and 
the scythe, the spelling book and the Bible. The 
vanguard of settlers in Onondaga, who followed 



360 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

the pathway blazed aloug the hills east and 
south of Syracuse, and crowned the summits 
with their roof trees or sought shelter in the in- 
tervening valleys, were almost exclusively from 
Massachusetts and Connecticut. Some of them 
were of liberal culture, with diplomas from Har- 
vard or Yale, and nearly all were graduates of 
the common school therein established. Their 
names are hallowed in our early annals. When 
Syracuse emerged from the morass that the hills 
encircled, and it was seen that her position, her 
resources and the lines of travel and traffic, which 
the enterprise of her citizens had secured, were 
to make her the principal place of a wide region 
tributary to her, the Puritan type still prevailed. 
When Carroll Smith was a boy, these were some 
of the men who were here plying their industries 
and fashioning the town. How virile and vig- 
orous they appear, how familiar their forms as 
we recall them. John W. Adams, loved and 
reverenced, was preaching at the First Presby- 
terian church; Robert R. Raymond, gifted and 
graceful, at the First Baptist ; Samuel J. May, 
fervent in all good causes, whose name is still a 
benediction upon this community, at the Unita- 
rian, and the saintly Henry Gregory and Wil- 
liam Bliss Ashley were ministering at Episcopal 
altars. B. Davis Noxon, caustic, yet winning, 
in speech, and searching in the examination of 



MEMORIES OF THE PAST 361 

witnesses, was the acknowledged head of the 
bar. James R. and Grove Lawrence had come 
from Camilhis, the one a gladiator in the legal 
arena, the other patient and faithful in the con- 
duct of cases, each a judge of the county. Dan- 
iel Pratt and George F. Comstock were in the 
first flush of their judicial renown. David D. 
Hillis was brilliant in his pleas before juries, 
and Charles B. Sedgwick and Thomas T. Davis, 
both subsequently to represent this district in 
congress, were gaining laurels for the polish and 
eloquence of their address. Elias W. Leaven- 
worth was still in active practice as a lawyer, 
but was rapidly becoming foremost among his 
fellows for the zeal with which he urged and the 
care he bestowed upon all concerns that contrib- 
uted to the advancement of the place or assured 
its weal. Opposite the modest home of Harvey 
Baldwin upon the southern slope of Academy 
hill was the statelier mansion of Aaron Burt, 
both their names intimately identified with in- 
creasing interests professional and material. 
Mather Williams, Hiram Hoyt, M. M. White and 
Lyman Clary were the leading physicians. Oren 
Root, afterward of Hamilton college, Joseph A. 
Allen, Samuel S. Stebbins, James W. Hoyt, Wil- 
liam Paret, now the Protestant Episcopal bishop 
of Maryland, and Albert G. Salisbury were the 
principal teachers. Horace and Hamilton White 



362 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

were laying the foundations of their princely es- 
tates. Moses D. Burnet, as the agent of the 
Syracuse company, was inviting and obtaining 
settlement by the liberal terms and advantage- 
ous sites he offered; and among those engaged 
in various vocations were Stephen Smith, James 
G. Tracy, Edward B. Wicks, Thomas B. Fitch, 
Ammi T. Butler, William Jackson, Lewis H, 
Eedfield, Peter Out water, William Malcolm, 
Henry W. Durnford, Christopher C. Bradley, 
Harmon W. Van Buren, W. W. Willard, J. Dean 
Hawley, still surviving, Prentice S. Stoddard, 
Cornelius T. Longstreet, Major Dana, Amos 
Westcott, Dennis McCarthy, Allen Munroe, Peter 
Burns, Dudley P. Phelps, and the Wynkoop 
brothers. John Wilkinson, a pioneer, while the 
nineteenth century was in its teens, the first 
postmaster and the projector of the Utica and 
Syracuse railway, alert, aggressive, enlightened, 
was a power in civic affairs. xA.mos P. Granger, 
blunt and outspoken, but, with single-hearted 
devotion to honesty in local administration and 
soon to become a doughty champion of freedom 
at the national capital, was a conspicious figure. 
Oliver Teall was draining the water sheds to feed 
his conduits, the while he was inculcating fru- 
gality and temperance. Daniel P. Wood and 
Thomas G. Alvord were at the beginning of their 
long and serviceable public careers, and Charles 



OF WORTHY STOCK 363 

Andrews was a young lawyer, poring ov^er his 
initial briefs — he who was to be thrice mayor, 
and who, after the most extended service known 
to the court of last resort in the state, ever broad- 
ening in learning and keeping his ermine un- 
spotted, as the shadows of his life are lengthen- 
ing toward the westerning sun, we are permitted 
to salute as our first citizen, none more honored 
throughout the commonwealth. 

" It was among these men and men like these 
that Carroll Smith came to man's estate. It 
was his to catch their inspiration, lo emulate 
their worth. And he was of their stock. In 
the late twenties and the early thirties, five 
brothers, the sons of Silas Smith and Eunice 
Bagg, his wife, migrated 'from the Berkshire to 
the Onondaga hills. They were of stout Puritan 
descent, and their grandfather, a soldier of the 
revolution, is buried in Marcellus. The eldest 
brother, Vivus W., led the way, in 1824, and, in 
1826 bought a newspaper at Onondaga Hill, 
which was then the mart of the county, thriv- 
ing and ambitious. There was the Court house, 
yet echoing to the voices of Thomas Addis 
Emmet, Aaron Burr and other giants of the bar. 
There were churches and stores and offices^ and 
in the streets was heard the resonant horn of 
the stage coach, as in brave array it drove from 
Albany to Buffalo. There is now but the pathos 



364 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

of silence over forsaken homesteads and bygone 
aims — apathy and rust — always, however, with 
the thought that the electric current may come 
with a kiss more thrilling than that of the fairy 
youth, in the poetic legend, to waken them into 
the new life, which shall be better even than the 
old, when suburban cottages shall survey the fair 
landscape about them and the lofty blocks, the 
mansions of affluence, the temples of education, 
and the spires of the city below them. It was 
at Onondaga hill that Vivus W. Smith wooed 
and won Caroline, the daughter of Jonas Earll 
jr., marrying her February 16, 1831. The Earlls 
also were a family exceedingly prominent in the 
early days of good blood and resolute wills. 
Jonas Earll sr., who came to Onondaga county 
in 1801, was among the original residents of the 
Hill, in a house which is still standing. He was 
a presidential elector in 1804, and died in 1847, 
at the age of ninety-two. He had three sons — 
Solomon, Jonas jr., and Daniel S. Jonas jr., 
Carroll's grandfather, who was born in Gran- 
ville, Washington county, in 1785, studied law 
with Forman and Sabine, at the Valley, was 
admitted to the bar in 1813, and had a distin- 
guished political career. He was successively 
sheriff, assemblyman, senator, congressman and 
canal commissioner. He died in Syracuse in 
1846, and is buried at the Hill. And so, a lead- 



NEWSPAPER HISTORY 3(55 

ing part in Onondaga county annals, belongs to 
Carroll by heredity, on both sides. 

" In 1829, when the Court house was removed 
from the Hih to the site midway between Sahna 
and Syracuse, the active citizens of the Hill came 
with it. Among them was Vivus W. Smith 
who brought with him his printing press to the 
new and aspiring village, forming a partnership 
with John F. Wyman in the pubhcation of the 
Onondaga Standard. In 1836, in conjunction 
with his brother, Silas F., he founded the West- 
ern State Journal and, in 1846, the same firm 
started the Syracuse Daily Journal, which is still 
in existence, the oldest daily here. His first wife 
died in 1835 and, later, he married Theodora 
Morey, also of Onondaga hill, whose gracious 
presence and gentle mien many of us remember 
vividly. Here he lived and labored many years, 
stalwart in form, weighty and positive in speech, 
yet benign in demeanor, developing his farm on 
West Onondaga street into city lots, receiving 
many public preferments, but chiefly known by 
the power of his pen. As an editor, he was both 
respected and feared. He was clear and forcible 
in the enunciation of his ideas, logical and ex- 
haustive in argument, the exponent of the Whig 
party in this section of the state, the confidant 
■ of Thurlow Weed, the friend, the adviser, the 
passionate admirer of Wilham H. Seward. He 



366 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

died at his home in Syracuse, February 7, 1881^ 
at the age of seventy-seven. 

" Carroll Smith was educated mainly in the 
schools of Syracuse, which, whether common or 
select, I am sometimes fain to think were better 
than are the schools of to-day. If they had nar- 
rower courses and less of what is called enrich- 
ment, they had more of earnest, honest study 
and the discipline that comes from study. If 
they were deficient in their classical departments, 
and they certainly compared unfavorably with 
the New England preparatory schools in this 
regard, they were excellent in mathematics and 
the English branches, and they had teachers who 
were skilled in and dedicated to their profession 
— born teachers, as the phrase is, of the stamp 
of Arnold of Rugby and Mark Hopkins, who 
got the best out of their pupils that there was 
in them. Carroll got something from the old 
Academy, where that eminent scholar, Oren 
Root, presided, and Miss Buttrick, afterward the 
wife of the Hon. William A. Sackett, made all 
the boys love her, and something, if I mistake 
not, from Samuel S. Stebbins, a graduate uf 
Yale college, of long pedagogical experience, 
urbane of manner and suggestive in instruction, 
whose school was in a house at the corner of 
Washington and Clinton streets, but more from 
the select school in the basement of the old Park. 



A MODEL TEACHER 367 

Presbyterian church, of which in 1848 and 1849 
James W. Hoyt, of Union college, was the prin- 
cipal. I have spoken publicly of this school more 
than once and I cannot pass it lightly by in this 
connection, partly because it was a select school, 
with but twenty pupils, nearly all sons of the 
men I have mentioned, and my memories of 
them are tender as being of those I was inti- 
mately associated with, but more because of the 
gratitude I still entertain for the master and to 
whom no tribute can be too hearty. He was not 
a great scholar, but he was, what is better, a 
good man. His moral fiber was of the finest 
texture and the purest quahty. He was among 
the manhest of men. And what he was him- 
self, he tried to make the boys committed to his 
care. They were put wholly upon their honor 
in their relations with him — no spying, no tale- 
bearing, no ungenerous rivalries. They reported 
their own delinquencies. That was the law that 
was to guide them, that the standard to which 
their training was conformed. His stay in Syra- 
cuse was all too brief, and he soon went else- 
where to mold other minds, but he left his im- 
press, distinct as the seal in the yielding-wax. 
I can recall hardly one of the boys who has not 
exemphfied in his daily walk the precepts of the 
master, who has not cherished his honor as the 
apple of his eye. Nearly all have lived worthily 



368 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

and well, and some have written their names 
large in letters, the professions and statesman- 
ship. Carroll was among the brightest of the 
little band. He was a fair scholar in the routine 
of the text-books, but he excelled in English 
composition, as became his inclination and the 
leading of the master, for in that branch we 
were constantly drilled. In the very atmosphere 
of the school, there was the animus to write. 
Carroll was robust physically, free of limb and 
quick in movement, but he was not a (;aptain 
of the playground. He did not spend much 
time there. The hours that others gave to rec- 
reation were passed by him in the printing office 
and the click of the types was music to his ears. 
He finished his studies at the Institute in Flori- 
da, Orange county, established by the father of 
Governor Seward and bearing his name, from 
which he graduated at the age of nineteen. I 
think he always regretted that he did not take a 
college course, but the invitation of the press 
was to him more persuasive than that of the 
curriculum of the higher education, and so he 
became a journalist. In his day, the great ma- 
jority of those who engaged in journalism drifted 
into it, having failed, perhaps, in other pursuits, 
but he was born to it. He was of a race of 
newspaper men. Not alone his father, but all 
of his uncles on that side, save one, were of the 



EARLY NEWSPAPER EXPERIENCE 369 

guild. The youngest, now well stricken in years, 
is still the editor and proprietor of a California 
paper of high repute. 

" Carroll tried his 'prentice hand as a reporter 
on the Journal. He was associate editor of the 
Chronicle, when Robert E. Eaymond, who had 
left the pulpit to become its head, gave to it an 
exalted moral tone and rare literary grace, and 
its local page was enterprising and sparkling. 
Our friend did his full share in maintaining its 
place as, upon the whole, the most readable and 
entertaining paper in the city, although it was 
in sharp competition with the Journal, still con- 
trolled by the forceful pen of his father, the 
Star, with Washington Van Zandt, for a time 
its editor, who, if his character had been com- 
mensurate with his ability, would have con- 
strained the esteem of the community, and 
Francis A, Marsh as reporter, and the Standard, 
just assuming the proportions of a daily, with 
Patrick H. Agan, well-informed and able, as its 
editor, and Moses Summers, with tireless feet, 
scurrying the streets for the news. From the 
Chronicle, Carroll went, for a year or more, to 
the Eochester Democrat, and then returned to 
the Journal, as city editor, really the first city 
editor, which was tantamount to the entire re- 
portorial staff, as which he did most competent 
work, notably his account of the notorious Fyler 



370 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

murder. In 1860, he became editor-in-chief of 
the Journal, with a proprietary interest, and so 
remained for thirty-eight years. It was in this 
capacity that he did his hfe-work and made a 
state, and even a national, reputation as a jour- 
nalist. Not only was his the editorial utter- 
ance, but his also the conduct of the paper in 
all its departments. 

" Journalistic conditions forty years ago, were 
very different from what they are to-day. I 
trust I shall not be charged with a dogged con- 
servatism, if I emphasize a few of these differ- 
ences without, I hope, indicating my preference 
for the old simply because it is the old, or decry- 
ing the new solely because it is the new. Jour- 
nalism has made tremendous advances in preci- 
sion, in enterprise, in amplitude of know^ledge, 
in the exploits of specialists, but not in charac- 
ter, nor as an educating force. Of course, there 
can be no comparison between the mechanical 
appliances of the different times — between the 
ponderous Hoe press, a miracle of genius as it 
once seemed and the meager service of the tele- 
graph and the web-perfecting, the Mergenthaler 
and the world-encircling ministry of the wires. 
Sometimes, I think that journalism is too enter- 
prising to-day, as it rakes the isles of the sea and 
far Cathay for incidents of scandal and ruth- 
lessly invades the sanctities of the home to feed 



COMPARATIVE EDITORIAL WORK 371 

the salacious gossip of the moment. There is 
too much news and much of it news unfit to 
print. The average editorial is as well written, 
as of yore, perhaps better, for the plain has been 
lifted to the peaks, and good writers are numer- 
ous, where they were once scarce, but the uni- 
form excellence diminishes individual signifi- 
cance. The editorial has become less telling, as 
it has become more common, despite the vulgar 
device, too frequently resorted to, of soliciting 
attention to it by setting it in display type and 
lining it through two or three columns, like a 
peddler hawking his wares. Various causes 
have rendered the editorial less persuasive than 
it formerly was^a more general intelligence re- 
fusing to be led, more independence of personal 
thought and, at the same time, paradoxical as it 
may seem, the control of political parties and 
evolution of policies, at the behest of party lead- 
ers, making the advice of the press superfluous; 
and there are the dictation of the counting-room, 
and the suspicions, too often well-founded, that 
the editorial page is the appendage of a trust or 
the vehicle of the demagogue. G-reat editorial 
personalities have also practically disappeared. 
I know of but two or three remaining of the 
long line in which, in this state alone, were 
Cheatham and Cobbett, Leggett and Bryant, 
Bennett and Greeley, Weed and Croswell, and 



372 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Webb, Raymond and Curtis. I am not com- 
plaining, I am but stating the truth that the im- 
personal ' we, ' once a fiction, is now a fact. The 
matter is minus the man. 

" Carroll Smith has been called an ' old time 
editor.' If that means that he was of the class 
that spoke with authority, and was the man be- 
hind the word, as well as the word itself, this is 
so. He understood the needs and the environ- 
ment of a provincial newspaper, and he har- 
monized with them. He made a good paper — 
clean, wholesome, instructive. He stood for the 
weal and the progress of the community; he 
stimulated all worthy effort and he advanced 
all good causes. His personality dominated his 
columns and he commanded attention whenever 
and upon whatever subject he wrote. But he 
was first, last and all time, a political editor and 
as such was nearly, if he was not quite, a great 
editor. He wielded as much power as any edi- 
tor in the state, outside of the metropolis and 
the capital. His English was sinewy, nervous 
and condensed. He was a student of American 
history and versed in American politics. He 
was loyal to his political party, but he did not 
hesitate to put his finger on its mistakes and 
weaknesses when occasion demanded. His opin- 
ions were pronounced, and he never evaded nor 
equivocated. He was staunch in his friendships 



CONSPICUOUS SERVICE 373 

and made no concealment of his enmities. His 
acquaintance was large and he had the confi- 
dence of leading men, state and national, of the 
political faith to which he adhered. He came 
upon the stage of action at the commencement 
of an era big with the fate of the nation, when 
slavery and freedom clinched in a death strug- 
gle, and the paramount issue was as to whether 
the union should survive or perish. His career 
was coincident with the birth, the growth and 
the rule of the Republican party. His first 
national vote was for the first national candidate 
of that party, and his last was for its last suc- 
cessful nominee. In support of that party, he 
never quavered nor faltered, and at various times, 
he rendered it conspicuous service. Two cases, 
I especially recall. In 1872, nearly every local 
Republican pohtician of note was opposed to the 
re-election of the Republican President — the 
men who were holding office, the men who 
wanted it, the men who manipulated caucuses, 
ran conventions and directed affairs throughout 
this section. Almost alone and single-handed he 
fought for the succession, not because he did not 
admit that the President had committed errors 
in administration and had submitted to guidance 
not free from reproach, but because he thought 
that, upon the whole, the republic would be 
safer under General Grant than under his oppon- 



374 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ent. It was better not to change either the prin- 
ciples or the poHcies of tlie government. The 
struggle was a memorable one, and Carroll E. 
Smith's personal triumph was as memorable, 
won as it was against heavy odds and numerous 
desertions from the flag that he upheld. Quite 
as notable was the issue of the contest, in which 
he was engaged, eight years later, against the 
third nomination of the chieftain, to whom he 
was personally attached and whose military 
genius displayed in the salvation of the country 
he gratefully acknowledged, but whose further 
civic ascendancy he could not favor as against 
the unwritten law of the land, unwritten, but 
sacred, through nearly a century of its history. 
I might cite other instances of his unswerving 
fealty to the political creed he professed, but 
these must suffice. Equally unswerving was 
his loyalty to the men whose political fortunes 
were in his keeping. The list is a long one of 
those who were thus indebted to him. 

" Intrepid as a protagonist for men and meas- 
ures in whose behalf he enlisted, he was singu- 
larly formidable as an antagonist. He made no 
doubtful deliverances. It has been said, even 
over his newly-made grave, that he was too 
severe and even pitiless in his assaults, that he 
was as keen and relentless as he was capable and 
helpful. This is true ; let us grant it. His pen 



NOTABLE CHARACTERISTICS 375 

was sharply pointed. He had the gift, some- 
times a fatal one, of crisp and acrid attack and 
retort. He could smite with a paragraph and 
sting with an epithet ; and I say this unreserved- 
ly, who more than once felt the hurt, in the con- 
tentions that almost inevitably arise between 
newspapers of the same vicinage and particu- 
larly between those therein of like political 
stripe, but in the calm review I am satisfied that 
the blows were not meant in malice, and they 
were forgotten in the warm friendship, the re- 
newal of the boyish intimacy that ensued, when 
I made my home in another city. His was the 
gift, and he could not help utihzing it; audit 
must be conceded that satire and sarcasm may 
be quite as effective agencies in promoting a 
desired or desirable end, as solid argument and 
lengthy appeal. As a maker of short sentences 
he was unsurpassed, and we would not forget 
their pith and verve, even if we have lingering 
memories of the severity of their thrust; and 
I believe that he believed they were justified by 
the exigencies that prompted them. They are 
concluded now ; the resentments are hushed and 
the wounds are healed, but the dexterity of the 
stroke, the flash of the blade, are not forgotten. 
Let them not be forgotten. To sum up: Carroll 
E. Smith was the editor of Syracuse — longest 
in the harness, of widest acquaintance and. 



376 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

therefore, of widest informatioD, the most forci- 
ble ill style, the most imperative in tone, mak- 
ing up in common sense what he lacked in schol- 
arship, the most commanding in position, a sa- 
gacious counsellor of his political party, drafting 
its platforms and representing it in local, state 
and national conventions, pungent as well as 
weighty of diction, sending into our homes a 
paper fit for any household and furthering uni- 
formly the best interests of the community in 
which he so long abided. 

" But he was something besides an editor. 
He was a public servant, acting as such for the 
city, the county, the state and the nation, an 
unusual combination of four-fold public employ- 
ment. His honors came to him both as the rec- 
ognition of personal merit and the due reward 
of party service, some by the suffrages of the 
people, and others by appointment; but in each 
he was useful and unsullied. He was city clerk, 
when he had barely attained his majority and 
county clerk while still in his young manhood. 
In middle age, he was elected and re-elected to 
the assembly, in which body he was highly es- 
teemed, although not frequently participating in 
debate. In his second term he was chairman of 
the committee on education, a responsible as- 
signment, to which he brought intelligent com- 
prehension of the common school system and 



AS A REGENT 377 

for which he was enabled to procure valuable 
legislation. He was postmaster under President 
Harrison. In 1888, by joint ballot of the senate 
and assembly, he was chosen a Regent of the 
University, as successor to General Leaven- 
worth, and it was in the circle of its nineteen 
elective members that I was brought into close 
official relations with him. I am inclined to 
think that the work of this body is not suffi- 
ciently understood nor appreciated by the people 
of New York. The life tenure and the appella- 
tion are repugnant to many, as smacking of 
royal prerogative in the democratic state; the 
labors of the board are not noisy; most of its 
members have passed the meridian of life, which 
induces the assumption that they have survived 
their usefulness, and its praises are not often 
sounded in the press. Really, they are exceed- 
ingly well-informed, have the wisdom of experi- 
ence, are alert and even combative in their super- 
vision of higher, and in part of secondary edu- 
cation, of professional, scientific and technical 
schools, of the state library and museum and of 
cognate educational agencies. Their jurisdiction 
was largely extended during the period that Car- 
roll E. Smith was a member. To this office he 
gave much of his time and attention, was at all 
meetings, when his health permitted, and his 
ripe counsel was freely invoked and deferred to 



378 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

in the deliberations. He was for the most of the 
time upon the museum committee and latterly 
upon that of colleges. In his intercourse with 
his colleagues he was unobtrusive, yet dignified, 
and no recent death among them has elicited 
more profound expressions of regret and the 
sense of loss than his. In token of his services 
to higher education, and not without regard to 
his aid in its own up-building, Syracuse Univers- 
ity, in 1894:, conferred upon him the degree of 
Doctor of Laws, a title that he worthily wore and 
by which he was generally addressed at the last. 
" Toward the last, afflictions visited and ad- 
versities beset him. The death of a dearly be- 
loved daughter grieved him exquisitely. Busi- 
ness embarrassments, against which he had 
vainly struggled, culminated in disaster. The 
monument, which his industry had reared, and 
which stood so fair and sightly before us, tot- 
tered and crumbled and fell. He lost the Jour- 
nal. Could there be a calamity more sore ? It 
seemed as if his heart-strings should have 
snapped; but how bravely he bore his losses and 
crosses those who were privileged to be near 
him know full well. Instead of embittering, 
they sweetened him. They subdued his asperi- 
ties, quickened his sympathies and broadened 
his manhood. He was superior to his reverses ; 
his spirit lightened the gloom. In a new jour- 



THE MAN AS HE WAS 379 

nalistic connection he formed his pen received 
fresh impulse and betrayed an ampler knowl- 
edge and a more generous culture than it had 
before been credited with, and treated subjects 
it had not before essayed. It went beyond the 
domain of politics and traversed fields of art 
and letters and philosophy and philanthropy, 
somewhat foreign to it before. In reminiscent 
mood, it was delightful. And as was the writer, 
so was the man, easily approached, genial in 
manner, free from vanity, cathohc in his offices 
to those who sohcited them, proffering them 
even when unsolicited, and especially suggestive 
and stimulating to the younger members of the 
profession. Jn conversation, he was charming. 
He cheerfully and readily drew upon the large 
fund of information he had acquired. There 
were stories of the time in which he had lived, 
anecdotes of men he had met, comments on cur- 
rent events, literary and historical allusions, 
shrewd analyses of character, humorous conceits 
and gleams of wit,^ and all with even tempered 
voice and propriety of phrase. I was fortunate 
in hearing much of his discourse in later years, 
— and he was at his best in these years; and I 
bear willing testimony to the enjoyment and 
edification I derived from it. Not infrequently, 
it reminded me of the ' Noctes Ambrosianse ' of 
^ Christopher North.' I am sure that, in this 



380 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

preseQce, I will not be charged with exaggerat- 
ing its charm. Conversation, which Dr. John- 
son declared was the highest of arts, seems in 
danger of becoming a lost art, but it was not a 
lost art with Carroll Smith. He was adept in it. 
" Toward the last also it was this association 
that had the full benefit of his prolonged and 
circumstantial study of local history, of his en- 
thusiasm, which never waned, for collecting the 
relics and fixing the land-marks of the past. 
Forty years ago, he was made a director of the 
Onondaga historical society; he gave to it then 
efficient effort; he lamented its decline and the 
sleep that seemed the sleep of death; he was 
deeply interested in its revival; he helped to 
breathe it again into being and rejoiced in its 
increasing strength. Naturally and properly he 
came to the presidency ; and what an energetic, 
capable and painstaking president he was — how 
considerate, how attentive, how inspiring. He 
was gracious and tactful in the chair, happy in 
his introduction of speakers, happier still, per- 
haps, in his reference to the occasions for speech 
and in interpreting the meaning of various com- 
memorative exercises, Here too he developed 
his own faculty of speech — a fact that I have 
not seen stated in any of the many appreciative 
tributes to him. To think on his feet was a 
talent that came to him late. In his younger 



AS A SPEAKER 381 

manhood, he did not manifest it. I doubt that 
he knew he possessed it. Editors are few who 
have it. They think only with their pens. The 
habit of putting everything upon paper deprives 
them of the facihty to marshal words before an 
audience. Raymond and Curtis, Grady and 
Watterson, McKelway and Charles Emory Smith 
are exceptions to the rule and not the rule itself; 
but I submit that when our friend found out 
that he could speak he did speak with force, 
felicity and fluency. But more than these here. 
He vitahzed this society. If a tablet was to be 
placed, a pilgrimage to be made to some historic 
spot, a treasure to be discovered, data to be de- 
termined, investigations to be pursued, he was, 
in most instances, the one to propose and perfect 
them. When he died on the 21st of August, 
1903, he was the dean of Syracuse journalism, 
the oracle of the past, and, as I said, at the be- 
ginning, and as many others have said, more 
completely identified with the life of the city 
and county than any other man who has here 
resided. Let us preserve his memory as he pre- 
served that of others. Let us continue the work 
that he began. 

" As I have written these lines, there has 
hung above my desk a likeness of our departed 
friend and mentor, the work of a local artist, 
who has done many things well, but nothing 
better than this. It is a vivid portraiture, strik- 



382 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

ing in its lineaments, natural in its expression,, 
and with eyes that have searched me through 
and through and have, v^ith every glance, ap- 
pealed to me to restrain eulogy of him, the 
rather that I might include in the review some- 
thing of the events he witnessed and of the 
lives of those with whom his life was associated 
and, more than all, to emphasize the significance 
of the work in which you with him, have been 
engaged. I have heeded the appeal, possibly in 
a larger measure than I should, and, perhaps, to 
your disappointment ; and so have strung bits of 
local history upon his life as a thread. I believe 
that he would have wished it so and that his 
last injunction to you would be to preserve your 
local associations. That is the object of your 
foundation. We are but the creatures of an 
hour, are as moths to the candle's flame, insects 
that breathe but to expire. When I think of the 
durability, whatever may be the mutations, of 
matter, in comparison with the brief span of 
mortal existence, I have no quarrel with the 
stern dogma which sees in men but worms of 
the dust. I once walked miles upon miles 
through the passages of the catacombs of Paris, 
where in orderly rows are laid the bones of mil- 
lions who, like us, lived and labored, had pas- 
sions, ambitions, victories. They are in oblivion 
now. All unknown, there is not one who can 
be labelled. What fashion of immortality is this ? 



CONCLUSION 383 

We die, and the gap we make is hardly seen, 
much less felt, so quickly is it closed. How- 
soon even does time gnaw at the letters on 
our tombstone. Sometimes, men seem to me 
but simulacra, walking images, thrust hither 
and thither by some fierce Frankenstein, as 
children pull the strings of jointed toys, so soon 
is this nervous being changed into the marble 
repose of death. Is this a grim and fatalistic 
view Ascend, then, into the higher atmosphere 
of contemplation, and note the mortification of 
intelligence. How short will be the catalogue 
of those who have enduring recognition, al- 
though none may gainsay the tremendous pro- 
pulsions of the race. Where are the speeches 
that have been made, the songs that have been 
sung, the books that have been written ? There 
are echoless voids, and they are to ' dumb for- 
getfulness a prey,' and, unmindful of, though 
he may be inspired by, them, the mighty pro- 
cessions sweep onward to decay, 

And the individual witliers, and the world is more and more. 

Let us, therefore, in very self-defense, preserve 
ourselves, so long and so well as we may. For 
this, let us summon all our faculties and employ 
all our energies. Let no records be effaced, no 
memories escape us, no labyrinths elude us. 
Let this society, and societies like it, be main- 
tained in their integrity. This is what he would 
say who, being gone, yet admonishes us.'' 




HOPPER'S GLEN 



I N D 



Abbott's drug store 

Adams, Charles E. 

Adams, Miss Elizabeth C. 

Adams, Rev. F. W. • 120, 133, 

Agnew & Wood 

Alexander, Rev. Caleb . . UT, 

Alexander, Iron Works . 

Alexander, William H. . 

Allen's (Miss) school for young ladies 

Allen, Joseph A. 

Alhambra house 

Alvord building, oldest brick structure 

Alvord, Diocletian and Elisha 

Alvord, Cornelius L. . . • 

Alvord, Elisha, first maker of salt in a per 

manent building 
Alvord, Thomas G. . 107, 312, 337, 

Amidon, Cheney 

Amos mill 268, 

Amusements, travelling shows in early days 

Andrews Brothers' store . 

Andrews, Charles . 

Andrews, J. . • • 

Annas, Charles L. . 

Armory and Armory park 

(385) 



261 
133 

133 
251 
295 
130 
267 
267 
283 
133 
264 
312 
310 
337 

107 
349 

45 
336 

42 
325 
349 
333 
337 
320 



386 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Ashley, Theodore, furniture store 




270 


Atwell fort 




175 


Avery, Latham Y 




337 


Babcock, Stanton P. . . . 




312 


Bacon, George A 




354r 


Baker, Charles A. . . . 


258, 


349 


Baker, Henry H 




127 


Baldwin, Harvey . . 132, 264, 


315, 


349- 


Baldwin, Jonas C 


63, 


105 


Baldwinsville Free academy . 




135 


Baldwin's Island .... 




15^ 


Bar of Onondaga county 


347-51 


Barlow, Rev 




25a 


Barker, John W 




216 


Barnum, Maj. General Henry A. . 




337 


Barron, John 




33T 


Basle 




143 


Bastable block . . . 




280- 


Beach, Dr. Allen .... 




83- 


Beach, Jonathan R. 




312 


Beard, B. 




333. 


Bear Trap creek .... 




327 


Beauchamp, William M. 




354 


Beaver Falls 




147 


Becker, Barney .... 




241 


Beebe, James, first jailer at county jail 




342 


Beebe, Z. L 




350 


Benham, William .... 




337 


Bennett, Harvey, deportment teacher 




338. 



INDEX 



387 



Bennett, J. C 387 

Bennett, Miles W 337 

Bennett, Thomas 219 

Benson, Egbert, held first oyer and terminer 340 



Bertram ....... 


175 


Bigelow, Otis, prominent early merchant 105 


Bicknell, Elijah .... 


253 


Bingham family ..... 


152 


Birdseye, Victory . . . 90, 125, 


349, 350 


Bissell, Dr 


64 


Blair, WiUiam K 


237 


Blake's tavern .... 


257 


Blake, shot by Sigel in coffee house riot 


312 


Block-house, Oneida lake 


138, 149 


Bogardus, Henry .... 


217 


Bogardus Corners .... 


223 


Bogardus hotel .... 


224 


Brace, David 


310 


Brackett, Ichabod .... 


310 


Bradley's blacksmith shop 


264 


Bradley, Christopher C. . 


280 


Brandt, at Brewerton 


151 


Brewerton, Captain, a British officer 


149 


Brewerton, Fort .... 


149-52 


Brewerton, settlement 


138 


Brewster, Samuel C. . . . 


:i97 


Briggs, Jerome J. . 


349 


Brine, where found 


108 


Brockway, Robert J. . . . 


241 



388 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Brosnan, CM, 

Brownell, W. A. . 

Brunei, Mark J. 

Buckley, Eussell 

Buckley, Tobias 

Burchard, Ely . 

Burdick, Hamilton . 

Burnet, John B. 

Burnet, Moses D., residence 

Buiiiet park 

Burt, Aaron 

Burt, Lucy T. . 

Burt, Oliver T. 

Burton, Burr . 

Bush, Mason, jailer at county jail 

Bush, Conrad, Eevolutionary hero 

Butler, Ebenezer, jr. 

Butler, Ebenezer, first settler at 

Hill 

Butler's Hill .... 
Buttrick, Miss Charlotte CI. 



349 

354 

144-5 

310 

45 

130 

349 

296 

256 

296, 327 

132, 315 

133 

133 

310 

342 

97 

95 

Pompey 

. 90, 95 

96 

133 



Cadwell, S. W 133, 258 

Canal, completion of celebrated, 261-2; open- 
ing of middle section, 260 ; canal basins, 
325; side cuts, 325-7; bridges, original 
stone, wooden, and other structures, 
297-300 ; extended to Sahna and Seneca 
river ...... 

Canandaigua academy .... 



305 
127 



INDEX 389 

Cantine, John . . • • • 191 

" Captain Canute," ran a trading boat . 306 
" Captain George," Indian chief . . 78 

Cardiff Giant 193 

Case, Daniel 232 

Castorland, colonization enterprise . . 142-7 
Castorland company . . . ■ 143 
Carangula (Garungula) at Brewerton . 150 

Cayuga academy 127 

Cayuga ferry . . . • • • 191 
Cayugas, feud with the Onondagas . 184 

Cay uga lake bridge, movement inaugurated 30 
Centennial History of Onondaga county . 354 

Center house 257, 345 

Century club 256 

Cham plain, French commander, at Brewer- 
ton, 150; visited Onondaga lake . 162 
Chaumonot, Joseph, 159; at Brewerton 150 
" Chassanis of Paris," .... 143 

. 225-7 
76 

337 

307 
68 

120 
114-122 

121 



Cheney's Recollections 
Cherry Valley massacre . 
Childs, O. W., N. M., 0. H. . 
Cholera visitations and victims 
Christian colonists and the Indians 
Christian society at Baldwinsville 
Churches in the towns and city 
Church of the Messiah, Syracuse 
Church street, a fashionable residential dis- 
trict 253 



390 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



138 
140 

188 

325 

23 



Cicero, town erected 

Cicero swamp 

Circulating library, first in the county- 
City hall 

Civilizations contrasted . 

Clark, Chauncey, Ehzur .... 337 

Clark's History of Onondaga 27, 354 

Clark, John N., noted in the cholera seasons 305 

Clark, Levi 209 

Clark, Joshua V. H., pioneer local histo- 
rian 27, 180 

Clark. Elizur, William . . 312 

Clement, Elihu 333 

Chnton, Gen. James .... 186 
Clinton square, 234; north side, 1820 to 1826, 

239-42; south side, 1824 to 1834, . 293-97 

'' Climax, The" 283 

Cobbleskill, expedition against by the On- 

ondagas ...... 142 

" Cobleighs, " memorable social events . 338 

Coffee house riots 311 

Cody's Corners . . . . ' . 139 

Cody, Mrs. Isaac, first " new woman " in 

Onondaga county . . . . 139 

Cody, Joel 252 

Cole, Aaron 218 

Coleman, Mrs. Charles J. . . . 280 

Colvin, Dr. D. S 258 

CoUins, George K 353 



INDEX 



391 



Comstock, George F. . . 252, 296, 349-50 

Congdon, 0. C 232 

Congregationalists at Baldwinsville, 120; at 

Elbridge, 119; at Jamesville, 119; at 

Otisco, 118; at Pompey, 114-17; at 

Skaneateles 

Conkey, Lyman W. 

Oonstantia 

Cook, David H., 130; Major W. A 



Copp, Samuel . 

Cossit's Corners 

Cossit, Sterling 

Corinth 

^' Corners, The " 

Corrections 



118 

295 
146 
333 

297 
223 
231 
223 
226 
188-9 



County buildings, first located at Onondaga, 

204-7 ; site removed to Syracuse . 343 

County seat, Syracuse made the . . 342-3 

County Clerk's office . . 840, 342, 346-7 

Courts and bar, (see 25th paper), 339 ; first 

court in the county, 339; first oyer and 

terminer ...... 339 

Court of Appeals Library . . . 346 
Court house, first in the county, 340-2 ; agi- 
tation for a new one . . . 345-6 
Court house green, pastimes on . . 63 
Crane, Hunter . . 312 

Creed, John B 232 

Crippen, Alonzo . . . . 312, 337 



392 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



85, 


172 




283 


; Medad, 






83 




85 



Cross lake .... 

Grouse stores . . - . 

Curtis, Elijah W., 349; Fisher, 310 

63, 342, 350; Sier . 
Cusick, Albert 

Dablon, Father Claude, 159; at Brewerton 150 
Dallman, Henry, WiUiam . . . 337 

Dana, Daniel 252 

Danforth, Gen. Asa, one of the first set- 
tlers .... 28, 46, 61, 165 
Danforth, Asa, jr., one of the first settlers 28, 29 
Danforth, Mrs. Asa, first church communi- 
cant at Onondaga Valley . . 37 
Danforth, John .... 107, 165 
Danforth, Patty, the first white woman in 

the Onondaga country . . 32, 49, 62 
Danks, Hanna, wife of Ephraim Webster 81 
Davenport, Eev., first Episcopal minister 117 

295, 307 

274 

349 

252 

113 

349 

76 

42 

145-6 

75 

169-70 



Day, Dr. Jonathan . 

Davis, Doctor .... 

Davis, Henry, jr. . 

Davis, Matthew L. . 

Davis, Solomon, early missionary 

Davis, Thomas T. . 

Dauphin of France 

Dean's theater 

De Geyan,Chevelier 

De-hat-ka-tons, Indian chief . 

Delphi, ancient fortifications . 



INDEX 



393 



Demiog, Hiram A. .... 237 

Derne Gazette, first newspaper in the county 179 
Desjardins, Simon . . . . . I'ii 
Desvatkins, Brunei's narrative so calls set- 
tler of Frenchman's Island . . l-io 
Devitsky, lived on Frenchman's Island . 140 
DeWitt, name of a famous family . 186-7 

DeWitt, Egbert, Jacob R. . . . 187 
DeWitt, Moses, 109-10, 165, 350; named 
Pompey Hill, 96 ; one of the first salt 
manufacturers .... 109-10 

DeWitt, Simeon 
Dexter, village of . 
Deys' building 
Dickinson, Deacon Pliny 
Doctors, large field of activity 
Drowning accidents 
Dunham, Captain Valentine, settled on Dun- 
ham's Island ..... 141 
Dunham's Island .... 140, 141 
Durston dry dock . . 325 

Dwellings, houses of the pioneers . 58 



Eagle tavern .... 
Eagle village .... 
Earll, Daniel .... 
Earll, Jonas .... 
Earll, Judge Nehemiah H., held first court 

in the original court house at Syracuse 345 
Early residence quarter 250-53 



191 
147 
323 
251 
63 



250 

188 

83, 116 

349 



394 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



mission 



East Bloomfield 

Eastern Society, organized at Marcellus 

East Syracuse 

Educational interests, promotion of 

Edwards, Alanson, 284; Samuel L 

Eliot, Eev. John, early Protestant 

ary . 
Elliott, Daniel, Charles 
Ellis, General John 
Empire house 
Everson block 
Exchange hotel 
Executions in Onondaga county 

Fairchild, Rev. Edward . 

Farmer block . 

Farnam, Reuben 

Fay Jonathan . 

Fayetteville, 187; churches 

Fayette park . 

Fellows, Deacon A. L. . 

Fifty-first regiment 

Filkins, Barcut, 241; Barnet 

Firemen, original 

First Baptist church, Syracuse 

First Methodist church, Syracuse 

First white male child 

First white settlement 

Fiske, Daniel Willard, visit to Genentoa 

Fitch, Hon. Charles E., . 



56, 



258- 



189 
118 

187 
123 
349 

112 

283 
62 
234 
270 
264 
348 

130 

323 

349 

218 

116 

317 

251-3 

336-7 

253 

9. 271-2 

253 

253-4-5 

308 

28, 46 

162 

10, 355 



INDEX 395 

Titch, Mrs. Thomas B., 2S3; Gilbert . 258 
Five Nations, earliest recorded history . 65-6-8 
Fleming, John ..... 349 

Flume of Onondaga creek . . . 267 
Food, supplied to the young communities 104 

Forbes, John G 295, 349-50 

Form an, " Bill," 46; Joseph . . 82 

Forman, Joshua, 49; moved to Syracuse, 

228, 230, 281-2, 328-9 . . 350 

Forman park . . . . 317 

Forman, Samuel ..... 349 

Fort Brewertou 151-2 

Fort Ezra 297 

Fort Schuyler 145 

French Jesuits, efforts to convert the Iro- 

quis ....... 111-12 

Frenchman's island . . . 140, 145 
Frontenac . . . ■ ' • - 168 
Frost, Captain, Indian chief . . 75 

Fuller, Henry S 349 

Gage, Charles H., 337; Mrs. Matilda Joslyn 139 
Gardner, George J., 354; R. H. . . 350 
Gardner, Samuel . . . 295 

Geddes, James, pioneer in Erie canal project, 
89; in the salt industry, 313; 49, 107, 

125, 168-9 

Geddes, town and village . . . 313-14 

General store 105 

Genentaha (not Genetaha) lake . . 65 



39G 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Genentoa lake .... 


. 158-62 


General training .... 




44 


Genesee street, north side of . 




252 


Gifford, Henry .... 




251 


Gifford, Sylvanus, drowned, while skating 


322 


Gilbert, Eev. Nelson J. . 


238, 


307 


Gilchrist, William .... 




310 


Giles, Philander . . . 




337 


Gilman, Mrs. Arthur 




280 


Ging-seng, dug and sold by the Ononda 


gas 


81 


Globe hotel . . . 




286 


Goodelle, William P. 




230 


Gott, Daniel .... (13, 90, 


349, 


350 


Gould, Col. Jeremiah 




303 


Grand canal, opening of 




260 


Granger, Amos P. . . . • . 


253, 


343 


Granger, Mrs. George R. 




280 


Granite hall 




297 


Graves, N. F. . 




349 


Greeley block 




353 


Green, Benjamin F. . . . 




337 


Green Point 




142 


Green Point, ancient fortification . 


. 16 


7-68 


Greenway brewery .... 




268 


" Grenadiers " 




167 


Grist-mill 




267 


Griswold, A. C 




349 


Haes, Rev. Father .... 




121 


Halfway 




257 



INDEX 



397 



63, 



Dr. John W. 251, 
354; Charles, Dr. 



Hah kooks, bird which destroyed Hiawatha's 

daugliter ...... 

Hall, George . 
Hamilton, Eobert . 
Hammond, Samuel H. 
Hanchett, John C, 251; 

278; M. W., 9, 278 

Juliet 

Hanchett, Oliver L., drowned while skating 

' ' Handsome Harry, ' ' tragic death of 

" Handsome Lake," Indian chief . 

Harbor brook ..... 

Hardenburg, Abraham . 

Hatch, Mrs. historical portiere 

Hathaway, Harvey . 

Hausenfrat, Jacob . 

Hawley's cabinet shop 

Hawley, J. Dean 

Hebard, Clark 

Heermans, Thomas B., organized the fire 

department . . . . 258, 
Hiawatha, legend . . . . 66, 67 
Hicks, Charles T., 255; Wilham . 
Higgins, Cornelius, constructed block-house 

at Salina ...... 

Hillis, D. D 274, 

Hills, Edwin 

Hiscock, Frank, L. Harris 

Holbrook, Dr., first physician in the county 



85 
350 
232 
349 



279 
322 
184 
77 
327 
186 
332 
337 
264 
264 
337 
285 

284 
, 85 
251 

166 
349 
337 
349 

308 



398 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Hollister, David W. 
Homespun clothing . 
Hooker, Dr. George 
Hopkins, Samuel Miles 
Hopper, Jasper 
Hopping, Enos D. . 
Horner, Frederick . 
Hough, Franklin B. 
Hough, AVilliam J. 



31() 

211 

251 

261 

125, 350 

335, 34^ 

221 

his story of Castorland 143 

349 

Hovey, Alfred H., 276; Miss Juliet Eaynor 279 
Howlett's (Parley) packing house . . 325 
Hugunin, Brig. Gen. D. ... 334 
Huntington, Bishop, 135; Miss Martha . 278 
Hutchinson, Brig. Gen, Oren . . 334 
Hyde, Christopher 25^ 

Immigration, New Englanders came early 72 

Inauguration balls ..... 332 

Independence ball, Syracuse, in 1836 . 335 

Indian Hill, largest Indian village . . 175-6^ 

Inland Navigation company . . . 137 

Introduction 5-11 

Iroquois confederacy, Q6 ; league . . 84 

Jackson, Albion, Calvin, 218; Mrs. William, 

279; Wilham, 274 



Jenney, Mrs. Edward S. 
Jerry Rescue .... 
Jesuit missions 
Jesuit priests, early operations 



279 

265^ 

159-63 

7a 



INDEX 



399 



Jesuits and the Salt springs . . . 153 
Jesuit wells ...... 158-63 

Jewett, Freeborn G 349 

Johnson, Col. John H 63 

Johnson's fort at the Valley . . . 174 
Johnson, Sir William, at Brewerton 151 ; 

mission work among the Onondagas 112 

Jones, Daniel T 63, 335 

Jordan academy . . . . 135 

Joslyn, Dr. Hiram ..... 139 
Judges Chambers ..... 346 
Judson, E.B., 192; Dr. Hiram . . 295 

Kaneenda, an Onondaga village . . 173-4 
Kasson & Heermans .... 368 
Keeler's tavern ..... 285-6 
Keene, Mrs. Charles .... 218 
Kellogg, Ashbel, 310: Augustus, 349; Dan- 
iel, 63, 349; Mr 133 

Kent, Judge James, served early in Onon- 
daga courts ..... 340 
Kennedy, George N. . . , . . 349 

Kidder, Miss Mary 133 

Kinne, Captain N. H., Emerson, J. C. . 333 

Kirk block 285 

Kirk tavern 284-5 

Kirkpatrick, Dr. William, Erie canal pro- 
moter .... 89, 157, 307 
Kirkpatrick, William .... 352 
Kirkland (not Kirtland), at Brewerton 150 



400 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Kirkland, Rev. Samuel, first Protestant 

clergyman in the Onondaga county 37, 113 
Kitchen of the old times ... 62 

Knapp, Ezra M 312 

Kneeland, Dr. Jonathan ... 64 

" La Compagnie de New York " , . 143 
Lafayette, stockade burned by Frontenac's 

expedition ..... 174 
La Fort, Abram, Daniel, Indian chiefs . 75, 76 
Lakeside stock farms . . . . 314 
Lansing, Rev. Dirck 116, 120, 125; Judge 

John, served early in Onondaga courts 340 

Larned block 264, 286 

Larned, Captain Samuel . . . 264 

Larrabee, Deacon 316 

La Salle, at Brewerton . . . . 150 

Lathrop, W. K. 264 

Lawrence, Gen. James R. 63, 342, 345; 

Grove ..... 253, 349 
Lawson, John D, . • . . . . 269 

Leach, James S 349 

Leavenworth, General, E. W., 178, 256, 349 

Lee, William 218 

Le Juene, Father . . . . . 159 
Le Moyne, Father, salt and Indians, 109, 

150 157-8 

Leonard, Charles, 208, 295; Rev. Joshua 125 
Leslie, David, John, Ross, Thomas . 268 

Leslie, Sir George .... 139 



INDEX 401 

Lewis, Elisha, commissioner to construct 

first court tiouse . . . . 342 
Lewis, Mrs. General, early church communi- 
cant at the Valley . . . . 37 
Linseed oil factory . . . . 221 
Lippincott, Mrs. (Grace Greenwood) . 90 
Liverpool, Episcopalians, First Methodist 

society 120 

Lodi, organization and leading men . 315 
Longstreet, C. Tyler .... 297 
Loomis, Nathaniel, first maker of salt in 

large quantities . . . . 109 
Loomis Hill, churches . . . . 116 

Louis XVI 144 

Low vi lie academy . . . . . 127 
Lynch, James, 120, 312,337; M. E., Pat- 
rick D 337 

Lynds (Elam) & Sons . . . . 268 

Macomb patent . . . . . 144 

Malcolm, William . . . . 270 

Malcolm block, 270, 286; hardware store 268 

Manlius academy ..... 135 

Manlius churches . . . . . 116 

Manlius Times, newspaper . . . 181 

Mann, Gen. Jonas . . . . . 271 

Manning, Franklin .... 284 

Mansion house .... 241-2, 332 

Mappa, Major, settlement at Trenton Falls 145 

Market hali 325 



402 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Marsh, Luther E., talk on Pompey, 85-6 ; 125 

Marsh, Moses S 264, 35a 

Marvin block 253 

Mathews, S. R 310, 337 

Mason, Charles ..... 90 

May, Rev. Samuel J 121 

Mayo's school ..... 253 

McCarthy, Dennis, John, 337; Thomas 10 \ 

120 310-12 

McDougal's shoe store .... 264 

McKinstry, Alexander .... 253 

McMaster, John Bach .... 23 

Mead, George ..... 280 

Mechanics' Cotilhon party, 1830 . . 334 
" Men of the Mountains " . . • 194 
Mesnard, Rene . . . . . 159 

Methodists, at Baldwinsville, 120; at Camil- 
lus, Cicero Corners, Otisco, Spafiford, 
Skaneateles, Tully . . . . 118 

Milan . . . . ... . 223 

Militia, leading men interested . . 62 

Military balls 332-4-5 

Military road 174 

Military tract . . . .48, 142, 195-8 
Miller's house, the oldest structure . 225 

Mill pond 319-20 

Minard, Isaac T 349 

Minier, Captain F. B 337 

Mitchell, Calvin, 252 ; David J. . . 349-50 



INDEX 403 

Monroe Collegiate Institute . . . 135 

" Montezuma," the first canal boat . 260 

•Moravian Brothers, mission at Onondaga 113 
Morehouse, Benjamin, first tavern-keeper 

103 1(35 

Morehouse Flats, Union Congregational 

church ...... 119 

Morele, Fred 337 

Morey, Davenport, 310; Theodore . 277 

Moray's brewery ..... 267 

Morgan, LeRoy 349 

Moseley, Daniel, 63, 348-9; his map of Syra- 
cuse, 233; the " green store" . 268 
Mud Creek . ' . . . . . 327 
Mullaney, Dr. John F. . . . 157, 159 
Munroe, Allen, 215, 251; Nathan . . 135 

National hotel 270 

National jubilee ball in 1826 . . . 333 

Neal & Hyde 320 

Needham, Dr. William, 63; Dr. Gordon, 63, 129 

Ne-un-hoo-tah 308 

Neukirk, Benjamin . . 28, 80, 174, 213 

New France ...... 25 

Newman, W. W 354 

New Rotterdam ..... 146 

Newspapers, first in the county . 44, 179 

Newton, Henry . . . . . 250 
New Year's ball at the house of Kneeland 

Sweet in 1821 333 



404 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Nolton, Charles, drowned in old mill pond 322 
North, Gen. Wilh'am . . . . 165 
Northeast quarter . . . . . 'i25 
North Side brook .... 819, 324-26 
Noxon, B. Davis, 63, 253, 342; James . 349 
Nye, James W 349-50 

Olds, Henry 221 

Olmsted, M 333 

One Hundred and Seventy-sixth regiment 334 
Oneida lake, its importance . . . 137 

Oneida lake canal 139 

Oneida river . . . . . 138 

Onondaga Council house ... 84 

Onondaga county, area diminished . 190 

Onondaga county bank . . . 264, 353 
Onondaga County Orphan Asylum . 133 

Onondaga County savings bank . . 218 
Onondaga county, settlement of . . 51 

Onondaga Creek commission . . 322 

Onondaga Gazette . . . . . 263 
Onondaga Indian Reservation . 198-201 

Onondaga Indians, origin . . . 192-94 
Onondaga lake, early camps, 173;' traditions 163 

Onondaga pottery 314 

Onondaga Valley academy . . . 82-3 
Onondaga Valley, early farms, "129; scene 

of early transitions . . . . 79 

Onondaga Valley tavern . . . . 93 

Onondaga village . . . . 73, 175 



INDEX 



405 



Onondagas, characteristics, 68-9, 70; chief- 
tains, 74, 78; coming of ... 71 
Orman, Thomas ..... 303 

Os-sa-hin-ta (Captain Frost), Onondaga 

chieftain ...... 65 

Oun-di-a-ga, an Indian chief . . 76, 142 

Oat water, Peter, jr. . . . 349 

Owen's bowhng alley .... 264 

Palmer, Rev. Avery R., discourse on Old 

Onondaga, 102-3; Erastus D. . . 90 

Park Presbyterian church, Syracuse . 121 
Parker, Orville, 237; Rufus, 221; Sanford C. 349 
Parlor, importance to early homes . 59 

Patterson, Reuben ..... 83 

Pease, Father, 255; James . . . 270 

Perkins' Hall 338 

Phares, Simon 303 

Pharis, Simeon 165 

Pharoux, Pierre . . . . 144 

Phillips' stage office .... 264 

Phinney's museum . . . -42, 247-50 
Piano, first in the county . . . 139 
Pierce, Jaris . . . . . . 85 

Pike block 286, 353. 

Pioneers, perils of 32 

" Pioneer Papers, " scope of . . . . 351-2 

Plan of the city 318 

Plank road, first in the United States . 139 
Political ball 337 



40() 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Pompey, origin and growth, 94-6 ; what 

antiquities evidence, 98; reunion, 1871, 91-2 
Pompey academy, established, 97 ; first 
structure, 123, 128; second and present 
building, 126; endowment lands con- 
veyed by the state . . . . 127 

Pompey Hill, a favored section with early 

settlers . . . . . . 90 

Porter, William, 349; William A, . 337 

Postoffice, Syracuse .... 264 

Potter, A. B 333 

Pratt, Daniel 349-50 

Prehistoric communities . . . 100 

Prehistoric evidences .... 171-72 
Presbyterians, at Onondaga Hill, 41-3, 114; 

at Onondaga Valley .... 41-3 
Prideaux, at Brewerton . . . . 150 
Prominent persons . . . . . 87, 88 

Prospect Hill 256, 320 

Protestant missions, labors among the Indi- 
ans . . . . . • . 11^ 
Public health, precautions in early times 328-9 
Public safety, committee of appointed . 165 
Public schools, history of . . . 354 

Queen Anne, a promoter of mission work 112 

Eandall, John, jr., 314; Nicholas P. 261, 349-50 
Kaymond, Rev. Robert R. . . . 238 
Ra}/ner, Richard ..... 349 
Raynor, Henry, 274; Josephine, 280; Juha, 276 



INDEX 



407 



Ray nor ('' Jeny Rescue ") block . . 265-6 
Raynor residence block, its occupants and 



conspicuous place in society 
Red mill ...... 

Reed, Col. R. T., 333; Rodman 
Reformed church, Syracuse 
Regimental balls .... 

Reigel, Henry . . . . - . 

Relations, Jesuit . . . . 

Rehgion, early work in the new country 

Rhodes, Captain Joseph . 

Rhyne, Frederick .... 

Richardson, Freeman 

Richmond, Brig. Gen. J., 334; Dean, 45 

Riley's soap and candle factory 

" Robbers' Row," .... 

Robinson, Rev. A. R., 117; William A. 
Rochefoncault .... 

Rogers, John 

Roman Catholics at Baldwinsville, 120; at 

Salina ..... 
Romer, at Brewerton 
Romeyn, Abraham, pubhshed first newspa 

per in the county 
Root, Adonijah, 251; Prof. Oren . 



274-80 

218-19 
256 

121-22 
337 
350 

153-63 
36-7, 73 
335 
232 
333 
310 
267 
257 
250 
141 
280 



Rose, Thomas . 
Roundy, Charles 0. 
Ruger, 350; John 
Rust, Charles 



120 
150 



179 
133 
133, 316 
353 
349 
295 



408 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Sabine, William H., 63, 349; Joseph T. 349 

Sackett, James 258 

Safford, Shubel, 287 

Sage, Mrs. Russell 253 

Sager block 323 

St. James Episcopal society, Syracuse . 122 
St. John's school for boys . . . 135 
St. John the Baptist mission . . 161 

St, Leger at Brewerton .... 151 

St. Mary's German Roman Catholic Church, 

Salina ...... 121 

St. Mary's of Genentoa mission . . 159-61 
St. Mary's Roman Catholic church, Syracuse 121 
St. Paul's Episcopal church, Syracuse . 121 
St. Paul's German Lutheran society, Salina 120 
Salina, organization of town and village, 
310-12 ; early settlers and salt manufac- 
turers, 303; rivalry with Syracuse 305-10 

Salisbury, A. G 133 

Salt, lake, 65; springs, discovery of, 109; 
what the Jesuit Relations say, 153-5; 
Johnson's title, 155-6; the state's title, 
155; early manufacture, 106-10; under 
state supervision, 157, 308 ; original res- 
ervation territory, 107 ; Salina the cen- 
ter of the salt business . . . 312 
Salt Point, 'rough elements, 45; scene of 

earliest salt manufacture . . 304-5 

Salt Point block-house .... 164-7 



INDEX 



409 



Salt road opened 139 

Sanford, Lewis H 349 

Sanger, Eichard ..... 337 
Saul, Charles F., Emma, George . . 279 
Savage, Joseph, 252; Eichard . . 312 

Sedgwicks, 90; Charles B., 349-50; Henry J. 349 

Seneca turnpike 257 

Seymour, Governor, address at Pompey re- 
union, 1871, 91-2; Henry, 125, 312; 
Horatio, 90, 312; John F. . 192, 312 
Schools, built by early settlers, 114; first 

school-house in Syracuse . . . 235-38 

Scott, Charles B 337 

Scriba patent ...... 144 

Shattuck, Henry 333 

Sheldon, Harvey, .... 295, 349 

Sherman house 

Sickel's shows. 

Sickness, sufferings of early settlers 

" Silver Grays" ball 

Sims, C. N. . 

Six Nations 

Skaneateles academy. 

Slocum, Gen. H. W., 90 

residence . 
Smith, Azariah, prominent early merchant, 
41, 105; Edward, 136, 354; Florence 
A., 277; Jacob S., 279; Samuel P., 
310; Mrs. W. H. H., 354; Vivus W., 
245, 277, 283 



74-5. 



Eichard E., 132; 



264 
42 
210 
337 
192 
112 
135 

252 



410 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Smith, Carroll E., see introduction and chap- 
ter by Charles E. Fitch . . 355-383 

Smith's dancing academy . . . 338 

Smiths & Powell 314 

Society and social functions (see 24th pa- 
per) 330-338 

Solvay Process works . . . . 314 

South Bay 141 

Soule, Howard 300 

South Salina 223 

So-wa-no-noh (Captain Sam George) . 69 
Spafford, Dr. Horatio Gates, reference to 

Onondaga county . . . . 26 

Spencer, I. S., 350; Thomas . . . 258 

Spies publicly whipped . . . . 167 

Split Rock 327 

Sprague & Gage . . . . 241 

Springer, Captain J. . . . . 336 

Stafford, David 251 

Stansbury, George C 34i) 

Stanton, Rufus, 218, 316; Nathaniel P. jr. 280 

Starin, Gaylord, drowned while skating 322 

State capitol 320 

" State's Hundred" .... 198 

Steamboats ...... 207 

Stebbins, Samuel S. .... 130 

Stephens (Stevens), Judge . . . 157 
Stevens, Abner, 333; William, first Salt 

superintendent . . . . 310 



INDEX 


411 


Stewart, Royal, 253; William D. . 


310 


Steuben, Baron . . . 106, 


145, 165-6 


Stockade at Van Buren. . 


172 


Stoddard, P. S. . ' . 


253 


Stone, William M. '. . . 


229 


Street names, origin of . 


353 


Strong, John M., 337, 303; Oliver R 


, 132, 


353; Schuyler .... 


274, 349 


Stuart, Dr. James C. . . . 


276 


Sturdevant, 0. W 


130 


Supervisors, board of . . . 


347 


Surrogate's office .... 


346 


^' Survey 50 acres " 


198 


Sweet, Kneeland .... 


333 


Syracuse, how named, 223-4, 231-2 


; first 


village officers, 238; from village 


to city 


262 . 


273 


" Syracusan, The " 


232 


Syracuse academy .... 


. 132-4 


Syracuse Cadets ball, 1844 


336 


Syracuse Citizens Corps balls 


336 


Syracuse Company .... 


295 


Syracuse High school 


135, 353 



Syracuse house, 262 ; a celebrated hostelry 

287-93; 332 

Syracuse Light Dragoons ball . . 336 



Ta-to-tah, the Onondaga boy king 
Taylor, Bayard, visit to Genentoa 



74 
162 



412 



PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 



Teall, Captain Oliver, 132, 315; Major Wil- 
liam W. . 

Tefft, E. T., 293: Dr. N. E. 

Tefft, Griswold & Weller 

Territorial conditions 

Third National bank 

Thomas, Orman 

Thompson's sugar bush . 

Thurber, Pascal, 258; Samuel 

Titus, Silas 

Tolman, Dr. J. P. 

Tompkins, Governor 

Town names, origin of . 

Townsend block 

Townisend, Captain Robert 

Townsend & Jackson 

Treaties between the state and the Onon 
dagas 

Tremont house 

Trenton Falls . 

Trials, famous ones 

Tryon county . 

Twogood, built early churches 

Tyler, Asher . 

Tyler's assembly rooms . 

Tyler, Comfort, one of the first settlers, 28, 

29, 46, 52 ... . 106, 303 

United Church of Onondaga Hollow and 

Sahna 120 



141 

64 
296 
317 
217 
165 
165 
354 
337 

46 
127 
181 
271 
256 
268 



190-92 

264 

145 

347-8 

190 

38 

63 

333 



INDEX 



413 



Universalist society, Marcellus 
University buildings 
' ' Upper tavern " . 



118 
316 
342 



127 
141 
165 
165 
349- 



142 
174 



Van Brocklyu, W. W. . 

Vandercamp .... 

Van Home, Adj. Gen. David 

Van Eensselaer, Gen. Stephen 

Van Schaack, Henry C. . 

Van Schaick, encamped on Frenchman's Is 

land ..... 
Van Schaick's expedition 
Van Vleck, first white male child in the 

county . . . • • ■ ^'^■^ 
Van Vleck, Isaac, 165, 303; Wilham, pio 

neer salt manufacturer 
''Veto "Clark 
Villages, how laid out 
Voorhees, James L. 
Voorhees house 



Waggoner, Peter 

Waldo, Father Daniel 

Wales, Peter .... 

Wall, John .... 

Wallace, Amelia, Charlotte, 279; Elijah F., 

295 ; Wilham J. 
Walrath, Captain E. L. . 
Walter, Ehhu .... 
Walton, Abraham . 



109-10 
30T 
178 
241 
234 

217 

50 
232 

252, 280 



349 
337 

267 
215 



414 PIONEER TIMES IN ONONDAGA 

Walton tract 215, 224-5 

Washington balls .... 334-5-6 
Washington park . . . . . 330 

Watson,* Elkanah 141 

Webb, Judge James . . . . 280 
Webster, Alonzo, 81; Daniel, 82; Harry, 

75, 80; Lucius H., 81; Morris, 83; Noah 82 
Webster, Ephraim. established trading post, 

first white settlement, 28, 56, 79, 80, 

81; his grave identified, 82 ; . . 213 
Webster's Camp . . . . ♦ . 223 
Webster's Landing .... 223 

Weed,Thurlow IT9 

West, Reuben, Simeon, prominent early 

merchants, 105; 0. I. . . . 333 

" Westwrd Ho! " 21-2 

Wbeaton, 90; Charles, Horace . 268, 297 
Wheeler, Charles, 337; Thomas . . 310 
White, Andrew D., 333-4; Hamilton, 335; 

Horace K. ..... 241 

White Canoe 85 

White Memorial building . . 343 

Wickes, William K 354 

Wicks, E. B.. 251, E. B. & Co., . . 270 

Wieting, Dr. John M 270 

Wieting block corner, 268-71; Wieting 

hall . 271 

Wilcox, John, first white settler in Pompey 95 
Wilkinson, 'John .... 223, 349 



INDEX 



415 



Williams, Rev. Eleazur, missionary among 
the Onondagas, 75, 118; George H., 90; 
C. B., IraH., 312, 337; H. A., 133; M., 
133; Dr. Mather .... 283 

Wiliiston, O. H 233 

Windsor house ..... 325 

Women of the pioneer times . . 33, 202—1 
Wood, Daniel, 125, 349; Daniel P., 350; 

Noah, 312, 337 

Wood, Patty Danforth, her coming to the 
Valley ; married to Thaddeus M. Wood 

32, 49 62 

Wood, Thaddeus M. 62, 258, 333, 342, 349-50 
Woodruff, " Charlie," 45; Col. Martin . 335 



Wool worth, Richard 


, 265 


, 333, 


349 


; Samuel 




B. 








130 


Worden, Hicks 






333, 


349 


Wright, B. & J., 26' 


'; Josiah, 


251, 


283; Lu- 




cius W., 241; Dr. Rial . 






289 


Wyman's printing o 


ffice 






258 


Wyman, Samuel 








83 


Yain, Peter, a trade 


r 








80 


Yates castle 










316 


Yellow block . 










246 


Yellow brook . 








. 319, 3 


21-3 


Yoe, R. A. 










335 


Young, Henry 










219 


Youngs, Henry 










184 


Zion's church, Onon 


daga 


Hill 






117 



MAY 13^1904 



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